New tuning standard

A few comments on the recent posts about a possible new tuning becoming widespread: first, I am amazed, as I chat with musicians I meet, how many of them don't even know what a non 12 tuning is...and these are accomplished players, not lay people. 12 eq is, as someone said, very entrenched in Western music today (and most other countries as well), so just dealing with that is a huge issue. But, on the other hand, since so much of American culture is fad oriented, if a big name performer with a large following decided to use a non 12 tuning in a musical project, say a guitarist like Joe Satriani, then I bet that, overnight, many young guitarists would suddenly be interested in using that same tuning. In fact, Steve Vai said in a 1993 interview, that he had a 16 tone and a 24 tone guitar; but, I don't believe he has used them yet on his CD's. I have long hoped a guy like that would do it, and then things might open up a bit.
But, would people go the next step, and start getting interested in the field of tuning in general, or just use the tuning that someone like Vai used? And, is another equal tempered tuning besides 12 desirable as a new standard in the first place? Personally, I would like to hear the use of many non 12 tunings in music, as I am bored out of my wittle skull by 12 eq...and if a new tuning took it's place, it too would become boring over time...although it might be a welcome relief for a while.
The way things will change, I believe, is to reach young people, early on in their musical education, and bring them up with the idea that 12 eq is just one possibility out of many, and if possible, expose them to music that uses other tunings. I have personally found that many of my students over the years are very open to other systems, they think it's cool and interesting...it's just that nobody ever told them before about the possibility. One of my kids has a 24 tone guitar, and his sister wants to play in well temperaments...and I have other students who are potentially interested as well. The older folks don't seem as interested, they just want to learn some licks and have some fun with the guitar. If the youngsters are reached early on, I really believe things might begin to change.
Dave Fiuczynski is a monster fusion guitarist, and a Berklee teacher...one of his students just posted me, and said he and Dave are going to start a microtonal club at Berklee. This is great news, cause students there will be exposed to other tunings, and will perhaps get curious and explore the field for themselves. But boy, just think of all the amateur guitarists strumming pop tunes, or budding pianists who are taking lessons...nobody is telling them anything about tuning, they just sit them down with an instrument and start teaching them music. If the way we educate our young people about music starts to incorporate tuning theory, then things will change...until then, let's hope a big pop star gets into it, cause it might be a long haul otherwise...HHH

Neil Haverstick wrote:

>In fact, Steve Vai said in >a 1993 interview, that he had a 16 tone and a 24 tone guitar; but, I don't >believe he has used them yet on his CD's. I have long hoped a guy like that >would do it, and then things might open up a bit.
>
I think he did record the 16 tet, but I don't remember exactly where.

I do remember that it didn't sound much different than the rest of his music. I like Vai when he isn't using an
electronic harmonizer. I go back a long way with little Stevie Vai, I own a first edition copy of
Flexable.

--
* David Beardsley
* microtonal guitar
* http://biink.com/db

Neil Haverstick wrote:
>Personally, I would like to hear the use of
> many non 12 tunings in music, as I am bored out of my wittle skull by 12
> eq...and if a new tuning took it's place, it too would become boring over
> time

I realized recently that I wasn't actually bored with 12=, but rather
the rigid framework for working in 12= that is based on the triad.
Once I learned how to compose music that didn't rely on triads, I
became much more interested in the tuning system. Just by treating the
thirds as dissonances, and the m7 and M9 as consonances, I opened up
for myself a whole different way of composing that I found very
interesting indeed.

--
~Tristan Parker
http://www.myspace.com/rozencrantz
"Western music is fast because it's out of tune"
-- Terry Riley

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Neil Haverstick"
<microstick@m...> wrote:

> In fact, Steve Vai said in
> a 1993 interview, that he had a 16 tone and a 24 tone guitar; but,
I don't
> believe he has used them yet on his CD's.

On the Vai album _Sex and Religion_, he used 10-out-of-16-equal at
least on the synth parts on the tune "Down Deep Into the Pain". Too
bad it's kind of a lame album (I admit, I saw a show from that tour,
with 20-year old Devin Townsend singing, playing guitar as fast as
Vai did, and climbing huge stacks of speakers).

> Dave Fiuczynski is a monster fusion guitarist, and a Berklee
> teacher...one of his students just posted me, and said he and Dave
are going
> to start a microtonal club at Berklee.

Awesome. Dave Fuze tried out my (formerly your) 31-equal guitar
almost a year ago, and he sounded great on it and loved it. I offered
to lend it to him but he said he was too busy for a few months.
Haven't really heard from him since :(

You might have mentioned Sonic Youth -- much of their music is very
microtonal, and they are quite popular, but they don't use systematic
tunings as far as I know. They use standard-fretted guitars and
extremely nonstandard tunings (perhaps different for each song) for
the open strings.