allintervallo

Allintervallo is a term that appears in music theory discussions to denote an emphasis on the full set of intervals that can arise from a given collection of pitches or from a melodic line. The core idea is to analyze, or to construct, materials in a way that engages with the complete range of interval classes, typically considered in semitone steps within an octave.

In analysis, allintervallo involves generating and examining the distribution of intervals between pitches, whether between successive notes in a melody or between all pitch-class pairs in a harmony. This intervallic perspective can reveal characteristics of a passage or a composer’s technique, and it can be used to compare works by counting how often each interval class occurs.

In composition, an allintervallo approach may guide the creation of textures or rows that realize a wide or complete set of interval classes. This mirrors ideas found in all-interval rows from twelve-tone practice, but without requiring strict serial constraints. The aim is to achieve a sense of intervallic completeness or uniform coverage across a piece.

Relationship to formal terminology: allintervallo is not a standardized term in the canon of music theory. It is more often encountered as a descriptive label in informal or pedagogical discussions. It is related to established concepts such as the interval vector, intervallic analysis, and the idea of all-interval material, but it remains a flexible, context-dependent label rather than a fixed technical category.

See also: all-interval row; interval vector; intervallic analysis; pitch class.