RE: [MMM] Re: ultimate instrument

It depends how you use it. If you use 12 notes scales for adaptive
tuning then it can be more powerful that fixed gamut full keyboard
scales. You cannot realistically accomplish adaptive tuning with full
keyboard scales and MIDI --> too much data. Using pitch bend for
adaptive tuning limits each MIDI channel to monophonic instruments.

John Loffink
jloffink@...

> -----Original Message-----
> From: jacky_ligon [mailto:jacky_ligon@...]
> Sent: Friday, May 24, 2002 9:50 AM
> To: MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [MMM] Re: ultimate instrument
>
> --- In MakeMicroMusic@y..., "X. J. Scott" <xjscott@e...> wrote:
> > >> What we need to do is come up with a wishlist. Then we can
> > >> approach the comapnies as a group.
> > >
> > > We have a wishlist.
> > > <http://www.microtonalsynthesis.com/architectures.html>
> >
> > OK, I'l be the first to start on talk about updating
> > this, which I have seen before but am not sure where it
> > came from or who the 'we' was that came up with it:
> >
> > --
> > > The advanced architecture
> >
> > >* 128 or more full keyboard or 12 note octave microtuning
> > tables
> >
> > The word 'or' here really troubles me as a manufacturer
> > will see that and say 'well then, we'll just do the 12
> > note octave one since it uses less memory'. 12 note
> > octave instruments are completely useless to me and
> > many other microtonalists and I really don't think we
> > should be encouraging ANYTHING other than full keyboard
> > arbitrary microtuning. Nothing else is acceptable in
> > the sense that I wouldn't buy it or be able to use it.
>
> Jeff,
>
> You are absolutely right here, and if this was the tuning capability
> of synths, it would obviously cover all possible 12 note 'octave
> tunings' as well as everything beyond.
>
>
> > >* full keyboard tables can be dumped and loaded using the MIDI
> > Tuning Dump Standard and to local storage
> >
> > OK.
> >
> > >* 12 note octave tables can be dumped and loaded using SysEx
> > and also to local storage
> >
> > Please, no more talk of '12' and 'octave' in the
> > context of "Advanced Tuning Features". One would not
> > even be able to tune a piano patch properly with such a
> > castrated 'feature'.
>
> Agreed. 12 note 'fixed octave tuning' is the bane of microtonality.
>
>

--- In MakeMicroMusic@y..., "X. J. Scott" <xjscott@e...> wrote:
>
>
> > It depends how you use it. If you use 12 notes scales for
> > adaptive tuning then it can be more powerful that fixed gamut
> > full keyboard scales.
>
> Not true if one values tunings based on something other
> than 12 notes and octaves.

sure. for example, it would be cool if i could play my 22-tone music
(which uses two keyboard octaves for one acoustical octaves) and have
it adaptively tune as i play. then some diehard ji fans might even
like my music, at least until i hit those 'necessarily tempered'
chords . . .

> > You cannot realistically accomplish adaptive tuning with full
> > keyboard scales and MIDI --> too much data.
>
> Not true - can do with pitch bends or with single note
> retuning messages.

do you speak from experience? if this has actually been done, i'd
like to know about it! note that we're talking *real time* adaptive
tuning of what the keyboardist plays (right, john?) . . .