Fw: Various tunings

----- Original Message -----
From: microstick@...<mailto:microstick@...>
To: makemicromusic@...<mailto:makemicromusic@...>
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 11:37 PM
Subject: Various tunings

Dan's comments were right on the $$$ for me, about actually getting in there and working with a tuning, regardless of what sort of ideas or theories one may have about what it "might" sound like. Hell, look at all the incredible variety of 12 eq music there is; throw in some more notes, and the possibilities get huge. And, a couple of things that are important to me about using different systems: for one, you gotta take what the tuning gives you, and go with that. For example, George mentioned that 34 doesn't get the 7th harmonic sound very well, and he's right. So, I just won't worry about that interval in 34, and I'll deal with whatever else it may have to offer, which is a lot.
And, of course temperaments were developed to play chordal music more in tune...but, if a musician isn't interested in playing jazz, blues, rock, folk, country, etc, or classical, than I can see why temperaments wouldn't interest them very much. But, I play many styles, so I like being conversant with different concepts, and how to apply them. I'm composing more on fretless now, using tunings from the Harmonic Series, but still very interested in different temperaments. I have also noticed over the years, that there really aren't many tuning folks who actually play music for a living, or have played a lot of more American "pop" styles, so there really haven't been many tunes composed in that style yet (Catler excepted). And I think the more that begins to happen, the more general acceptance there will be of non 12 tunings. Most people just want to be entertained, or dance...it was the lack of danceable music that made audiences wary of be bop, and a lot of micro music has often been perceived as maybe a bit "weird" by a lot of folks. And some of it was/is.
Anyway, there it is...best...HHH
myspace.com/microstick

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, <microstick@...> wrote:
>
> Dan's comments were right on the $$$ for me, about actually
getting in there and working with a tuning, regardless of what sort
of ideas or theories one may have about what it "might" sound like.
Hell, look at all the incredible variety of 12 eq music there is;
throw in some more notes, and the possibilities get huge. And, a
couple of things that are important to me about using different
systems: for one, you gotta take what the tuning gives you, and go
with that. For example, George mentioned that 34 doesn't get the 7th
harmonic sound very well, and he's right. So, I just won't worry
about that interval in 34, and I'll deal with whatever else it may
have to offer, which is a lot.

Please don't be too hasty in writing off prime 7 in 34-ET; as Gene
pointed out, it's a lot better than in 12-ET. I think it would be a
shame if you didn't take a little time to explore Paul Erlich's
decatonic scales (inasmuch as they have such remarkable properties) --
see my comments here:

/makemicromusic/topicId_13280.html#13317

> ... I have also noticed over the years, that there really aren't
many tuning folks who actually play music for a living, or have
played a lot of more American "pop" styles, so there really haven't
been many tunes composed in that style yet (Catler excepted). And I
think the more that begins to happen, the more general acceptance
there will be of non 12 tunings.

Yes, I agree. Go for it!

--George

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, <microstick@...> wrote:

> And, a couple of things that are important to me about using
different systems: for one, you gotta take what the tuning gives you,
and go with that. For example, George mentioned that 34 doesn't get
the 7th harmonic sound very well, and he's right. So, I just won't
worry about that interval in 34, and I'll deal with whatever else it
may have to offer, which is a lot.

One thing to bear in mind about 34 is that it has a really good 17, so
you get, for example, nice 10:12:17 chords if you want them. Since
12-et also has a reasonably good 17, it makes for familiar territory
in some ways, but the 34-et version of 10:12:17 is of course much
closer to JI. And, of course, if you use dominant seventh chords in
12-et you can certainly use them in 34-et also, where they are in
better tune, and overtones be damned.

>And I think the more that begins to happen, the more general
acceptance there will be of non 12 tunings. Most people just want to
be entertained, or dance...

But there are also people like me, who basically don't care about all
that, and want something *interesting*, dammit. Microtonality is great
for that, so that's another potential audience.