Harmolodics

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Harmolodics is a music theory developed by jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman. Associated primarily with the jazz avant-garde and the free jazz movement, harmolodics seeks to free musical compositions from any tonal center, allowing harmonic progression independent of traditional European notions of tension and release. Harmolodics may loosely be defined as an expression of music in which harmony, movement of sound and melody all share the same value. The general effect is that music achieves an immediately open expression, without being constrained by tonal limitations, rhythmic pre-determination, or harmonic rules.

Coleman has also used the name Harmolodic for both his Web site and his record label, which had a distribution deal with Verve Records in the 1990s.