Cryptotonality: A Compositional Framework

About twenty years ago, I started experimenting with a process I called "pseudotonality"; the idea is simple. A tonal composition (the "skeleton") is made, and then selected notes are sharped, flatted or otherwise changed by small intervals to give a sense of atonality, error, or distortion of expectations in the listener while preserving a tonal essence. It may sound like the performer is inebriated, playing wrong notes left and right, when such is not the case; the "errors" are intentional. By varying the frequency and nature of the distortions, a myriad atonal-sounding variations of a melody or a harmony can be made, parallel keys explored, and avenues for development opened up.

One of my first experiments in this vein was my first piano sonata:
https://imslp.org/wiki/Piano_Sonata_No.1_(Bernardez%2C_Pedro)

The original tonal theme of the first movement (https://youtu.be/sGJuRCzPM5M) was in C major, starting from the V chord. Yet from the start, notes are changed every which way. Only for a moment in the development is the tonal skeleton ironically fully revealed, before recapitulating to the distorted opening theme.

The slow second movement (https://youtu.be/02JKtaoOb-E) is in "A minor", and the last one, a sprightly vivace inspired partly by Venezuelan music (https://youtu.be/UhlOFd865B0), is in "C major".

Other pieces that tap into this framework include Sonatina in C, and Ragtime No. 22 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDHaGsW9FuU). I still use it from time to time.

Last year, I realized that "pseudotonality" ("false tonality") doesn't quite reflect the concept, and that "cryptotonality" ("hidden tonality") is a better descriptor.