Adam's quest

On Thu, 9 Nov 1995, Adam B. Silverman wrote:

> "Big Gulp"'s tuning is 11-limit: 1/1, 33/16, 9/8, 28/12, 5/4, 21/16,
> 11/8, 3/2, 99/64, 27/16, 7/4, 15/8. It should be a good scale for piano
> music which sounds convincing yet distinctly xenharmonic.

Your scale is not that "wild" and only adds a couple of harmonics to a more
consonant resolution to 12ET. Objectivity is lost on 12ET-fretted minds
that are the result of a lifetime of indoctrination.

> Of course it is nice to write for an ensemble, but when it comes to
> analyzing a tuning purely, a solo keyboard may be ideal. Adding
> instruments, especially ones without fixed-pitch, would muddy up the sound
> and act as a "cover" for hearing the true relationships.

If you have the conviction of hearing the exact intervals so can any
professional musician. If your mind is "muddy" than clear it up. The
piano and most electronic timbres are inharmonic, muddying up just
relationships. And on the piano, what with the artificial node creating
a blank space due to the striking hammer, and the bad odds regarding 3
wires under tremendous tension being exactly in tune... From where I
stand keyboards are extremely limited regarding musical expression. They
are only a short term fix, except in the hand of extremely talented
individuals. There is no reason to believe - at least in theory - that a
non-keyboard musician that can hear intervals in their head before
playing them aloud makes an inferior microtonal statement. And besides,
music is music and need not aim for "xenharmonic" shock value.

I also find
> that the more action is involved (varied instruments, harmonic motion,
> etc.), the less xenharmonic a piece sounds. This is taken from comments
> of non-JI musicians who I have listen to it.

About 13 years ago I had the opportunity to ask advice about a similar
problem from the late Issic Asimov. I had just performed on electric
bassoon with Jon Catler and The Microtones at The Other End in Greenwich
Village - the whole set in 31-tone ET. 6 ethnomusicolgist grad students
that were my colleagues at the time from Columbia University swore that
they couldn't hear any microtones in our playing. (This did not give me
much faith in their ears.)

After a Barnard College lecture on the future, Mr. Asimov responded to my
frustration at my colleagues. "Firstly, you are ahead of your time and
can't expect people to understand what you are doing. And secondly, keep
calm about it and be patient with them for in time they will come around.

> A couple of questions:
> -Who is "Twinings"? I haven't heard his music.

Toby Twining leads an a capella just intonation choral ensemble in NYC



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