In many cases the specific musical tradition experienced and internalised in every culture over the course of an individual’s socialisation places a wide-ranging tonal language at the disposal of musical communication. This tonal language as such has arisen within a specific regional cultural setting, where it makes its mark on a musical culture and is understood by most listeners sharing the same cultural space – because they are accustomed to it.

Beyond this, there are a host of other characteristics of acoustic artistic expression as well: tonal languages lying outside of one’s own tradition. These tonal languages themselves have a historically developed musical syntax of their own and must be viewed as foreign – because unaccustomed – musical languages vis-à-vis the listener’s own musical tradition. These foreign musical languages are frequently harder to understand, and in terms of communication they tend to resist efforts at understanding.

Hence, the creative musician and composer are aware of this diversity of tonal languages within a field consisting of subjective tradition and objectively available avenues for artistic expression.

If the maker of music should find the resources of his or her own cultural tradition, as appropriated over the course of his or her own individual musical socialisation, too limited or imprecise for a clear and persuasive presentation of the matters calling for artistic expression, he or she may find tonal languages outside of the indigenous tradition a wise and useful supplement for purposes of artistic formulation.

The adventure of new music begins beyond traditions. Just as a painter’s palette offers unfettered use and combination of all of the colours perceptible to the human eye – regardless of which paintings have already been painted, and how – the creative musician also has all of the humanly perceptible tones at his or her disposal, for use in the unfettered creation of music.