a passing

Sad to report, tuning theorist Larry Hanson passed away on Tuesday; I
believe he was 76. Although I did not get to know Larry very well, he
changed my whole musical life by getting me involved with the 34 tone
equal tempered system...I will always be very grateful for that. I got to
see him and play for him whwn I was in LA...he was obviously not doing so
hot, but really enjoyed finally seeing his creation, and hearing it
played live. Larry was interested in other tunings as far back as 1943,
and wrote an article for Xenharmonikon a few years ago which went into
detail about his theories (maybe John can tell us which XH?).

I have found the 34 tone system quite marvelous; it is little used, and
little explored. I believe the comma probably scares a few folks off;
and, all those notes! But, this system is very versatile, with many
intervals no more than a few cents off strong ratios; 3rds are very pure,
5th is good, marvelous little tones (semitones?) all over the place; I
plan to compose a lot in this system. Larry was very kind with me, and
also was willing to put up some capital for instruments to be built. I
now have a 34 tone acoustic guitar, and an electric guitar and bass as
well. A 34 tone acoustic bass is under construction, too...my next CD
will feature several 34 tone pieces.

One comment about this system that I have heard numerous times is that it
feels sort of relaxed, more natural than 12, and I agree...I like to say
it resonates well, and indeed it does. I like the comma, and have written
a piece that uses it as the basic unit of movement; commas are very
natural, of course, and have been used for a long time by Asian oriented
systems. Not to mention that one can now modulate through many new
pathways with 34 basic keys, and a zillion modes.

I will miss Larry, and pray that he is at peace...Hstick

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Thanks, John, for the biography/obituary of Larry. I knew little bits
and pieces of that info, but that really glued it all together and filled
in the gaps!



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