Re: Organum for Mary Beth Ackerley

Hi Margo,

> D S11
> Bb B S7 S8
> G S4
> F S1
> D E or more generally S-2 S0
>

mode -2 1 4 7 11 -> 0 1 4 8 11

or relative to the dim7th chord's root:

0 3 6 9 13 -> 2 3 6 10 13

> D S9
> B C# S5 S8
> G S2
> F S-1
> D F#1 or more generally S-4 S0

mode -4 -1 2 5 9 -> 0 -1 2 8 9
or relative to the dim7th chord's root:

0 3 6 9 13 -> 4 3 6 12 13

Yes, they are striking resolutions.

I've done a couple of midi clips of these for everyone to listen to,
again on sitar, but they work fine on the Yamaha soft synth sitar
too, so I expect pretty generally. Tried them on a fair number of timbres
and most work.

I've uploaded them to the files area for anyone to listen to.

/makemicromusic/files/Robert_Walker/13-tet+0_3_6_9_13_to_2_3_6_10_13.mi
d

/makemicromusic/files/Robert_Walker/13-tet+0_3_6_9_13_to_4_3_6_12_13.mi
d

Also I can imagine how a resolution to the 0 3 6 9 could be
possible too, as it seems to be a fairly consonant chord
somehow.

> May I lend you some encouragement here, please.
>
> One issue for me with my cassette was, "This is so tentative, do I
> really want this on a CD."
>
> Now I'm more and more convinced that getting the music out there is
> important, with disclaimers if necessarily as to this being an
> "improvisation in progress" or whatever.
>

Thanks for the encouragement. I'd like to make a CD for you and anyone
else and will do something about it.

I'm enjoying your pieces a lot. Look forward to hearing more.

> May I hope that people who can hear it, which means _lots_ of people
> here, get great enjoyment for your sitar timbre, something really
> interesting for 13-tET, and an example of how experimentation can
> often be the best teacher.

I'm rather curious actually about why it works, I think possibly
because the sitar has so many higher harmonics, and maybe some of them
go together well in 13-tet chords.

On your notes about the Organum

> Here I might add that the 9-step interval of 13-tET at ~830.77 cents,
> is quite close to the Golden Section or Phi at ~833.09 cents, and even
> closer to the ratio 13:21 (~830.25 cents) formed from two of the
> numbers in the famous Fibonacci series (1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55...)
> where successive pairs form ratios more and more closely approximating
> Phi.

That's interesting. The 0 3 6 9 chord ends at that note. I wonder if one
somehow can hear the golden ratio and key in with its special
qualities.

Thanks for the notes about the origins of it, and the idea of a
moveable pedal point.

Robert