Blues in 22EDO (work in progress)

I have finally managed to to delve a little deeper into 22EDO. Here is a first result. It is a kind of blues, wallowing in lots of 7-limit major chords. The form loosely resembles the 12-bar blues scheme, but not with the degrees IV and V but with a tritone (11 steps in 22EDO) instead of degree IV and a semitone (2 steps) instead of degree V. This is was chosen because 2 and 11 are the prime factos of 22.

The instruments are piano (Roland JV-1010 retuned to 22EDO) and harmonica (which can play microtonal notes by nature thanks to the bending playing technique). The current recording still needs polishing - the piano lacks rhythmic accuracy, the harmonica part will have to be re-recorded and supplied with reverb - but I still would like to share it now, as work in progress or proof of concept. 22EDO offers interesting possibilities for quarter-tone chord progressions, which are, I think, well audible in the piece.

The title is "Sonnenberg blues". Sonnenberg is a place above Zurich. The headquarter of the FIFA, the international football association, used to be there, and its inhabitants belong in good parts to the richer half of the society. To name a blues after this place is, of course, a perfect oxymoron. But OTOH, so is the idea of a blues whose chord progressions are determined by the prime factorization of 22 - and maybe even the idea that a white guy (who hasn't even shot a man in Memphis) tries to write a blues. But, well, I am just having fun...

https://share.ols.inode.at/ZE25E6LLHEMZZJX3QI65PBHNVOGPQZ0QEBVSHGDZ
--
Hans Straub

Hans - this works really really well! The instruments sound really good
after the first couple bars - so it doesn't sound so inaccurate to me I
guess I'm saying. Very good piece!

Chris

On Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 4:32 AM, hstraub64 <straub@...> wrote:

>
>
> I have finally managed to to delve a little deeper into 22EDO. Here is a
> first result. It is a kind of blues, wallowing in lots of 7-limit major
> chords. The form loosely resembles the 12-bar blues scheme, but not with the
> degrees IV and V but with a tritone (11 steps in 22EDO) instead of degree IV
> and a semitone (2 steps) instead of degree V. This is was chosen because 2
> and 11 are the prime factos of 22.
>
> The instruments are piano (Roland JV-1010 retuned to 22EDO) and harmonica
> (which can play microtonal notes by nature thanks to the bending playing
> technique). The current recording still needs polishing - the piano lacks
> rhythmic accuracy, the harmonica part will have to be re-recorded and
> supplied with reverb - but I still would like to share it now, as work in
> progress or proof of concept. 22EDO offers interesting possibilities for
> quarter-tone chord progressions, which are, I think, well audible in the
> piece.
>
> The title is "Sonnenberg blues". Sonnenberg is a place above Zurich. The
> headquarter of the FIFA, the international football association, used to be
> there, and its inhabitants belong in good parts to the richer half of the
> society. To name a blues after this place is, of course, a perfect oxymoron.
> But OTOH, so is the idea of a blues whose chord progressions are determined
> by the prime factorization of 22 - and maybe even the idea that a white guy
> (who hasn't even shot a man in Memphis) tries to write a blues. But, well, I
> am just having fun...
>
> https://share.ols.inode.at/ZE25E6LLHEMZZJX3QI65PBHNVOGPQZ0QEBVSHGDZ
> --
> Hans Straub
>
>
>

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

I took the liberty of posting your post on the website I sponsor where
hopefully some 12 tet people will hear as well.

http://notonlymusic.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=353&start=0

Chris

On Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 9:03 AM, Chris Vaisvil <chrisvaisvil@...>wrote:

> Hans - this works really really well! The instruments sound really good
> after the first couple bars - so it doesn't sound so inaccurate to me I
> guess I'm saying. Very good piece!
>
> Chris
>
>
> On Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 4:32 AM, hstraub64 <straub@...> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> I have finally managed to to delve a little deeper into 22EDO. Here is a
>> first result. It is a kind of blues, wallowing in lots of 7-limit major
>> chords. The form loosely resembles the 12-bar blues scheme, but not with the
>> degrees IV and V but with a tritone (11 steps in 22EDO) instead of degree IV
>> and a semitone (2 steps) instead of degree V. This is was chosen because 2
>> and 11 are the prime factos of 22.
>>
>> The instruments are piano (Roland JV-1010 retuned to 22EDO) and harmonica
>> (which can play microtonal notes by nature thanks to the bending playing
>> technique). The current recording still needs polishing - the piano lacks
>> rhythmic accuracy, the harmonica part will have to be re-recorded and
>> supplied with reverb - but I still would like to share it now, as work in
>> progress or proof of concept. 22EDO offers interesting possibilities for
>> quarter-tone chord progressions, which are, I think, well audible in the
>> piece.
>>
>> The title is "Sonnenberg blues". Sonnenberg is a place above Zurich. The
>> headquarter of the FIFA, the international football association, used to be
>> there, and its inhabitants belong in good parts to the richer half of the
>> society. To name a blues after this place is, of course, a perfect oxymoron.
>> But OTOH, so is the idea of a blues whose chord progressions are determined
>> by the prime factorization of 22 - and maybe even the idea that a white guy
>> (who hasn't even shot a man in Memphis) tries to write a blues. But, well, I
>> am just having fun...
>>
>> https://share.ols.inode.at/ZE25E6LLHEMZZJX3QI65PBHNVOGPQZ0QEBVSHGDZ
>> --
>> Hans Straub
>>
>>
>>
>
>

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

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Chris Vaisvil <chrisvaisvil@...> wrote:
>
> Hans - this works really really well! The instruments sound really
> good after the first couple bars - so it doesn't sound so inaccurate
> to me I guess I'm saying. Very good piece!
>

Thanks very much for your kind words! I hope the visitors on your website see it similarly... I just keep hearing every little mistake I made.
--
Hans Straub

Actually yes!

Alister is *not* a microtonalist though you could say he is tuning-curious

http://notonlymusic.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=353

On Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 12:01 PM, hstraub64 <straub@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> --- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Chris Vaisvil <chrisvaisvil@...> wrote:
> >
> > Hans - this works really really well! The instruments sound really
> > good after the first couple bars - so it doesn't sound so inaccurate
> > to me I guess I'm saying. Very good piece!
> >
>
> Thanks very much for your kind words! I hope the visitors on your website see it similarly... I just keep hearing every little mistake I made.
> --
> Hans Straub
>
>

Hans wrote:

>I have finally managed to to delve a little deeper into 22EDO. Here is
>a first result. It is a kind of blues, wallowing in lots of 7-limit
>major chords. The form loosely resembles the 12-bar blues scheme, but
>not with the degrees IV and V but with a tritone (11 steps in 22EDO)
>instead of degree IV and a semitone (2 steps) instead of degree V.
>This is was chosen because 2 and 11 are the prime factos of 22.

This worked really well.

>The instruments are piano (Roland JV-1010 retuned to 22EDO) and
>harmonica (which can play microtonal notes by nature thanks to the
>bending playing technique).

Is that you on harmonica then? How refreshing to hear some
acoustic instruments around here! Great playing too. It's a
diatonic I take it?

-Carl

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Carl Lumma <carl@...> wrote:
>
> Hans wrote:
>
> >I have finally managed to to delve a little deeper into 22EDO.
> > Here is a first result. It is a kind of blues, wallowing in lots
> > of 7-limit major chords. The form loosely resembles the 12-bar
> > blues scheme, but not with the degrees IV and V but with a
> > tritone (11 steps in 22EDO) instead of degree IV and a semitone
> > (2 steps) instead of degree V. This is was chosen because 2 and
> >11 are the prime factos of 22.
>
> This worked really well.
>

Good to hear, thank you!

>
> Is that you on harmonica then?

Yes.

> How refreshing to hear some acoustic instruments around here!
> Great playing too. It's a diatonic I take it?
>

Yes. More precisely, there were two harmonicas used. For the parts in C I used a harmonica in F, in Steve Baker special tuning with an additional octave below the normal range. For the parts a tritone and a semitone away, I used a harmonica in Bb - didn't work so well, though, I gotta find a better solution for this, maybe one in A.

Thanks for the nice comment!
--
Hans Straub

This 22-blues sounds great.... I like the substitutions for IV and V in this, got the right feel but it all sounds "new!"

Much enjoyed, thank you for sharing. (I've been too busy to catch up with recent micro tracks recently, it has been a nice treat)

Very nice even in this preliminary form!

Oz.

✩ ✩ ✩
www.ozanyarman.com

On Jun 16, 2010, at 11:32 AM, hstraub64 wrote:

> I have finally managed to to delve a little deeper into 22EDO. Here
> is a first result. It is a kind of blues, wallowing in lots of 7-
> limit major chords. The form loosely resembles the 12-bar blues
> scheme, but not with the degrees IV and V but with a tritone (11
> steps in 22EDO) instead of degree IV and a semitone (2 steps)
> instead of degree V. This is was chosen because 2 and 11 are the
> prime factos of 22.
>
> The instruments are piano (Roland JV-1010 retuned to 22EDO) and
> harmonica (which can play microtonal notes by nature thanks to the
> bending playing technique). The current recording still needs
> polishing - the piano lacks rhythmic accuracy, the harmonica part
> will have to be re-recorded and supplied with reverb - but I still
> would like to share it now, as work in progress or proof of concept.
> 22EDO offers interesting possibilities for quarter-tone chord
> progressions, which are, I think, well audible in the piece.
>
> The title is "Sonnenberg blues". Sonnenberg is a place above Zurich.
> The headquarter of the FIFA, the international football association,
> used to be there, and its inhabitants belong in good parts to the
> richer half of the society. To name a blues after this place is, of
> course, a perfect oxymoron. But OTOH, so is the idea of a blues
> whose chord progressions are determined by the prime factorization
> of 22 - and maybe even the idea that a white guy (who hasn't even
> shot a man in Memphis) tries to write a blues. But, well, I am just
> having fun...
>
> https://share.ols.inode.at/ZE25E6LLHEMZZJX3QI65PBHNVOGPQZ0QEBVSHGDZ
> --
> Hans Straub
>
>