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VS: [MMM] How to make microtonal music?

🔗Toni Ahvenainen <tahvenaine@...>

5/23/2003 1:02:48 AM

Hi everybody again,

I would like to thank you all for excellent advices. I like the idea of
Seven equal, and it could be the good starting point. I've also found out,
that I need to study this thing a bit more. All this numerical data is going
over my head easily and I need to do my homework better :). I'm familiar
with tempered and just scale (did I wrote them right?), but I really don't
understand the number behind it. I haven't had any experience in microtonal
music, but I'm driven by the idea behind it (like it so much).
The programs people have mentioned seems good to me. I haven't tried them
yet, because I haven't been home with my own computer. I'm doing a
MMM-package for myself right now, with all the programs and texts and
everything.
As someone asked about what kind of music I'm interested of making. Well,
might not be your flavor, but breakbeats, DnB, synthetic sounds, different
timesignatures all mixed up as a good IDM should be. I guess I'm just
influenced a lot by artists like Aphex Twin, Autechre etc.

Toni

-----Alkuperäinen viesti-----
Lähettäjä: Robert Walker
Vast.ott: MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com
Lähet.: 23.5.2003 1:00
Aihe: [MMM] How to make microtonal music?

HI Toni,

Seven equal is a rather fun tuning to try out - and few notes and
few intervals and chords to - an interesting microcosm.

It turns everythign on its head in a most delightful fashion. The fifths
are dissonances to be resolved. The thirds are so wide that they are
moderately consonant approximating to an 11/9. Then I find in this
tuning
the thirds make diads which have a consonance and richness to them
which let's them function more like triads in normal triadic music.
Instead of progressing round a circle of fifths as in II V I etc
you progress round a circle of thirds II - VI - III - I for instance
(diads rather than triads there). Then you can extend the diads
to make more dissonant chords until you get to 0 2 4 8 10 12 14 (scale
degrees)
which is your entire scale laid out as a single chord. That chord is
sort
of like a diminished seventh since it lets you modulate anywhere.

You can then make modes of seven equal, maybe 0 2 3 5 6 7 for
a little pentatonic scale.

You can bring your tunes to a cadential close quite nicely just using
the diad cadences such as III - I or VI - III - I etc.

(I'm sure this is only one take on seven equal...)

My program Fractal Tune Smithy has an MFX plug in so can be used with
Cubase SX or Sonar.

It's not entirely free like SCALA because I am doing this as a business
- but you
can use it as long as you like for free with some restrictions -
you are restricted to ten minutes playing time per session
(with a drop list of some free midi in presets to try that never time
out).
Also when you try it for free you either see a dialog or a splash screen
when it starts up (can choose which you prefer).

I've just done a version update to version 2.3 (accumulation of
updates, bug fixes etc).

http://www.tunesmithy.co.uk

Thanks,

Robert

>
> My name is Toni Ahvenainen and I'm new in this list. I joined because
I
> want to create microtonal music. But I don't know how to make it.
> Usually I make electronic music with computer programs such as
> Cubase Sx and virtual soft synths. I would like to do some microtonal
> stuff with those programs, but I'm not sure how. I've understood from
> somewhere else, that I need some programs to feed midi to cubase sx
> (since cubase only has 12 notes in octave). So I'm sure someone here
> knows good apps that would help me and other helpfully stuff also.
> I'm also very interested if someone could advice what kind of scale I
> should use. I know there are different kinds of scales, like 24, 19,
43 or
> something other notes in one octave. I would like to know if someone
> has opinions of which scale could be suitable for idm-geeck
(intelligent
> dance music, don't ask...) like me. I must admit that I'm not very
good
> even with normal scales, so I guess 24 would be easier than 43??
> If people have any other advices for novice I would love to hear.

HI Toni,

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