FIVE, ALL THE MUSIC IS MICROTONAL

FIVE ALL THE MUSIC IS MICROTONAL TD 1187

) Where is the 12 ? 1192, 1194, 1201, 1206
) Musical writing
) Harmonics (Carl Lumma) 1188
) Just listen (Marion) 1188
) More than 12
) Sound Spectrum
continuum (Hstick) 1205
) Cross-cultural (J. Reinhard) 1198, 1203
) Piano's Tuning
) Microtonal Architecture (J. Szanto) 1197
- Myriad of both tunings and styles (J. Reinhard) 1201
- Xenharmonic music (John Chalmers) 1206

Tuning digest 1210, Gordon Collins wrote :

> I suspect that the problem with the word "microtone" is that it has been
> applied to tunings far removed from the context of its invention. Didn't
> the word come out of early 20th-century experiments with 24TET, 96TET,
> and other tunings that were derived by subdividing 12TET? Its meaning
> seems clear in that context.

Yes. Many years ago, when I went to the fonts which I was able to get to, I
was surprised about the intention of the word "microtone". Carrillo simply
divided the "tone" in "parts" (4, 8, 16, 32) and he didn't make a
substancial relation with harmonics.
More yet, Carrillo denied the 53 (I have got a 1938 article of him) although
Novaro claimed for it, as I do.

Some years before Carrillo, Ellis promoted the "Cents" (Ordinal number for
any interval of the 1200 that there are in the 1200 root of 2 scale) as a
way to yardstick the intervals. He mesures any interval with a proposed
smallest one.

I began my studies on the numbers for intonation in the'70's and I
rediscovered the skhisma that I coined as "Musical Atom".
Well, I am a chemist and such a name has its deep origins in my mind.
In those times I had the hope that this microtone would divide exactly the
intervals. Really it only divide exactly the Pith. comma (12.0 Musical
Atoms) and 81/80 (11.0). The fanny thing is that Siemen Terpstra (Holand),
whom I didn't know, last year has reported to me that in the '70's he also
claims for the expression "Musical Atom" instead of Skhisma. He also worked
on 53 and had a 53 electric slide guitar made.
He also claims that the use of our Musical Atom is a Harmonic-related
microtone to yardstick the intervals and in this sence this is better than
Ellis proposal.

I chose (for the 3 and 5 options) 1/9 of a musical atom as the better
microtone to minimize the fifth. At that time I didn't know Helmholtz nor
Ellis. Helmholtz hierarchisizes the 5/4 using the 1/8 of a skhisma and I use
1/9 of the musical atom for 5/3 due to the simple reason that 5/3 is better
than 5/4.



Eduardo

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eduardo Sabat-Garibaldi e-mail : esabat@adinet.com.uy
Home: Simon Bolivar 1260 Office FAX-Phone : 598 2 900353
11300 Montevideo Home Phone : 598 2 780952
Uruguay