Chronomatics Institute was founded in the late 1970ties by the Danish music theorist and music journalist Frede Schandorf Petersen. Prior to the foundation of the institute he had worked for almost 20 years on an arithmetic scrutiny of the concept known from music as tonality. From the basic notion of the simple circle of fifths and principle of octavation he developed an arithmetic algorithm of tonality that reached far beyond the contemporary recognition of the concept of tonality that prevailed in the fields of both theoretical music and mathematics.

In the late 70ties he recognized the close connection between the basic tonal principle and the fundamental notion of time itself (as periodized motion) which inspired Schandorf to establish a new mathematical language for the coherence of tone, time and number called:

                Chronomatics and Chronometry.

Over the next decade he established a series of fundamental Chronomatical analysis:

• Elementary Chronomatics
• Tonal Group Theory – finite closed systems
• Self Charge Plane – infinite tonal plane and cube system 
• Period Suite – interaction between finite close systems and infinite systems

During the 1990 and to the end of his life he rigorously pursued the basic idea of the unbreakable link between the number system itself (regardless of the specific number base) and the principle of Octavation and Tonality as a fundamental force of nature.

Frede Schandorf has left behind a comprehensive but also a very complex material of chronomatical analysis primarily with commentaries and descriptions in Danish. Schandorf work has been followed by a few dedicated students and assistants and it is however our hope that we can translate and publish as much material as possible in the coming years.