tuned tunes

In a message dated 97-09-13 02:06:14 EDT, you write:

> I think microtonality could have a very definite demand, if infused into
> what is termed pop music. I think that experimental high level
> compositions are very intersting, but I am surprised that no one really
> works with simple popular forms.

I think you have a very good idea, there, Peter. Pop music, in the sense of
hit music, has run the gamut (no pun intended) of harmonic possibilities and
come back around to three chords and a bad lyric. The interest has been
almost entirely sonic of late - the stranger a recording sounds, the more
likely it is to get airplay, it seems, as long as it has a strong hook. Some
tunings do sound odd, at first anyway, and might well cause a buzz if
presented properly. You'd need to choose a tuning that would draw attention
to itself in all of its "weirdness" - hit 'em in the face with it. The more
showy and flamboyant, the more chance of success.

Europe would probably be more open to it than here in the US, since Techno is
apparently bigger there right now, whereas acoustic stuff is hot here. It's
just a lot easier to tune a synth than a piano or guitar.

See Charles Lucy's site for a techo-ish band ostensibly using Harrison/Lucy
tuning. On the one hand, it sounds a little different than it would in
12-tET; on the other, I think it could have been written in 12-tET so it
doesn't really seem to show the uniqueness of the tuning. It's a start,
though.

Record your Greek Funk, if you can, and put it on the next Tape Swap.

You asked about vocations. I'm a recording engineer and jingle writer, and
am attempting to get into writing music for computer games and multimedia.
Tuning study helps me a great deal in recording since my ear for pitch is
increasing exponentially in sharpness as I learn and practice tunings. That
means I am more likely to catch a "bad" note during a session, or to let a
slightly flat (by 12-tET standards) major third go by since I know it is
closer to Just and will likely work well even against a guitar or piano third
in the same register, etc. I haven't yet written a jingle in JI (probably
won't!) but have written game music for my own use in various tunings.

Unless you aspire to tune acoustic keyboard instruments for a living, like
our esteemed fellow Ed Foote, tuning will probably be a sideline or tool, not
the vocation itself.

David



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From: mr88cet@texas.net
Subject: Re: "Quartertone" Again
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Peter Blasser writes:

> ji midi sequencer program and have a question.
> Which is better: fine/course presets or pitchbends on tempered notes?

I cast my vote for the pitchbend version. To paraphrase you, it would be
usable by more people on a broader range of equipment. But it is true, and
disconcerting, that there is some difference between the exact amount of
pitch bend a given command produces on various instruments. Sound Blasters
even seem to produce different amounts on different notes! That makes it a
tough call.



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Subject: Re: TUNING digest 1180
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