TUNING digest 1197

> TUNING Digest 1197
>
>Topics covered in this issue include:
>
> 1) Comma Pop? I think not... and more!
> by "Jonathan M. Szanto"
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Topic No. 1
>
>Date: Sun, 05 Oct 1997 02:12:14 -0700
>From: "Jonathan M. Szanto"
>To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu (Tuning List)
>Subject: Comma Pop? I think not... and more!
>Message-ID: <3.0.2.32.19971005021214.006b327c@adnc.com>
>
>Tunisti,
>
>In a recent exchange here, entitled "Pop In Microtones", I had a bit of a
>disagreement with Maestro J. Reinhard's somewhat enthusiastic overview of
>the world. Please be assured, as Johnny and I have 'taken it outside' more
>than once that it's all on a contextual level, with no (none!) enmity.
>Onward...
>
>Perhaps the greatest mistake is the confusion between "microtonal music"
>and "music containing microtones". At least I believe this to be the crux
>of the problem. I would propose that a music *fundamentally* based on some
>sort of microtonal architecture, in any form, would constitute a piece of
>"microtonal music". This, therefore, excludes musics that *happen to have*
>microtones produced as a side effect, as an addition or coloration or
>ornamentation, or an accident. I believe this to be a very important
>distinction, and the one on which I base the premise that we are very, very
>far, indeed, from a world of microtonal pop music.
>
>After all, if the second schema was the yardstick, then most every
>orchestral concert I've been involved in has been microtonal, at least in
>the general vicinity of the back stands of the second violins...
>
>Johnny had a very telling remark, in response to some of my questions about
>globalization vs. Kenny G, and his ilk:
>
> "The important thing here -- at least to me -- is that there is a
> soup of interval useage out there in the real world of music, and
> that includes pop."
>
>Which only heightens the contrast between the two premises: is it
>microtonal music just because it has a few out-of-tune/in-tune notes? I
>don't believe it is.
>
>So then Johnny, after a shotgun attempt at supplying information to back up
>his claims, tended to reinforce my main point, which was only to keep
>everyone from overheating with joy that the Microtonal Millenium had
>arrived! The facts still exist:
>
>1. Whitney Houston is not a microtonal pop artist.
>
>2. In spite of any analysis, Pink Floyd could not realistically by
>considered as composers/performers of microtonal pop -- because adjusting
>3rds just doesn't overcome the inheirently 12TET underpinnings of the other
>99% of the work.
>
>3. Having microtonal (or microtonally sympathetic) personnel at *some* of
>the stations or print outlets does not constitute mainstream. For heaven's
>sake, NPR? Mainstream? In Jesse Helm's dreams...
>
>The other rationalizations were also similarly weak. I didn't realize that
>the Grateful Dead listened to Ive's 4th before each concert for a year, but
>then I wouldn't ask Gerry Garcia to be my pharmacist based on his other
>interests at the time, either. Not to mention that anyone hoping to peg
>Aaron Copland as a microtonal composer (scattered experimentation
>notwithstanding) is on shaky ground indeed; like he was a great serialist,
>too, huh? Nope. Pretty traditional guy, by just about anyone's standards.
>
>I hope no one took my thoughts on San Diego's microtonal 'scene' in a
>mean-spirited way, I just wanted to make clear that (since we are speaking
>of the present) that it is about as nowhere as most anywhere these days.
>Past history is just that, and no personal slights were intended. Believe
>me: there may be folks living here that know about it, but nobody doin' it.
>
>HOWEVER, JR and I do have one potential common ground with rap. In its
>infancy, with a reliance solely on vocals and rhythm, there was a freedom
>from rigid harmelodic dogma that hadn't been seen in a great while. The
>setting of words that mean a great deal to ordinary people, set
>intervalicly (sp?) more closely to 'real' speech than any piano can
>produce, certainly warmed my heart -- and I'm sure Partch would love it
>too, harkening back to his earliest days of text settings in monophonic
>arrangements (though Harry would have abhorred the violence and brutality).
>Even though the scents of other musical styles are seeping back in, there
>seems to be *much* more fluidity, harmonically and melodically, in the
>vocals of these artists than most any other pop. Of course, that's all been
>co-opted as it became fodder for Sprite commercials, etc. Damn.
>
>Well, anyhow, that's one evenings ruminations. I figure I'm quiet enough on
>the list that I can spew a little occasionally. I like to keep things in
>perspective, yep...
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>Hey, on a completely different note(s), if you haven't stopped by Corporeal
>Meadows recently, please do (see the .sig). In the last couple of months
>I've added a few new bits, including a reproduction of a brochure on
>Partch's instruments that he included with the Gate 5 recordings, only (on
>the web site) you can hear the instruments demonstrated.
>
>Also, Philip Blackburn continues to bring out more material in the
>Innova/Enclosures project, and we're probably just weeks away from the
>first volumes of the CRI Partch Collection.
>
>Besides, I never get any complaints about my site. I must have gotten
>*someone* pissed off here! ;)
>
>I'm going to bed now. Bye.
>Cheers,
>Jon
>*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
> Jonathan M. Szanto : "Hell, I haven't hit my thumb in 30 years!!"
> jszanto@adnc.com : - Harry Partch
> Corporeal Meadows : http://www.adnc.com/web/jszanto/welcome.html
>*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
>
>------------------------------
>
>End of TUNING Digest 1197
>*************************
>


SMTPOriginator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu
From: Daniel Wolf
Subject: TUNING digest 1198
PostedDate: 06-10-97 17:30:37
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Peter,

Fokker had a 31-tET guitar. I have seen it and the frets at the end of the
fingerboard are awfully close together. Too close to get a finger in
between,
but with some practice one may get accustomed to that. So it's possible.
Siemen Terpstra uses 53-tET on a guitar, but it is fretless. He has
colour-coded
the fingerboard to know the positions.

Manueel Op de Coul coul@ezh.nl


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From: Johnny Reinhard
Subject: Re: 31 tet Practicality?
PostedDate: 06-10-97 16:25:52
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To hear some vituosic 31ET electric guitar listen to Jon Catler's EP _JC
& the Microtones_ now available through his FreeNote Label. To hear
acoustic 31ET listent _Religione est une salope_ on the PITCH cassette.

Though it's true the frets get mighty close higher up on the stings
(towards the bridge) the guitar serves basically as a fretless at this
end of the instrument. Contact Jon Catler at 212-580-0602

Johnny Reinhard
Director
American Festival of Microtonal Music
318 East 70th Street, Suite 5FW
New York, New York 10021 USA
(212)517-3550/fax (212) 517-5495
reinhard@idt.net
http://www.echonyc.com/~jhhl/AFMM/


SMTPOriginator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu
From: "Fred Kohler"
Subject: E-mu Morpheus microtonal suitability
PostedDate: 06-10-97 17:16:56
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Certainly a lot of people have fretted guitars to 31TET. Among them
Ivor Darreg, Erv Wilson, Jonathan Glasier, Larry Hanson, probably Jon
Catler, perhaps John Starrett, and presumably several of our friends in the
Netherlands (Manuel?).

Is it practical? Presumably Neil H. will have a good answer to that,
but I've certainly heard quite a few play it, so I would say that the
answer is yes. If the closeness of the frets concerns you, consider that
Adrian Fokker wrote string quartets in 31TET, and that the finger positions
are a whooolllle lot closer together on a violin than on a guitar.

I think it's probably safe to say that it would take practice to become
fluent with it, but I think you'll find that practice rewarding in the end
though.


SMTPOriginator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu
From: "Fred Kohler"
Subject: Re: TUNING digest 1197
PostedDate: 07-10-97 16:35:36
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