aliens who actually like worthless lemons!

OK, I'm being a sucker for the flame bait. Every once in awhile I get
gullible and respond to things that are so obviously ridiculous it should
really be beneath me. Sigh... But I have some moments with which to
attempt to articulate some thoughts which seems to be floating around on
the list recently. This list typically is home to a lot of thoughtful,
challenging, and yes, wildly opinionated people. Usually subjective tastes
are admitted as such. But every so often some fanatic appears insisting
that his own theories are the only possible correct ones while everyone
else's are "worthless" and apparently believing that repeating the same
opinions over and over with increasing forcefulness makes them more
universally true. Typically this personality will claim absolute truth for
his opinions based on the latest "scientific research", and then ironically
portray himself as a lonely defender of populist human values valiantly
battling against an army of soulless academics. And so we have recently
learned that all music apparently fits into two neat categories: 1) Music
which is optimally expressed in 19ET, and 2) Worthless.(also synonymous
with mechanical dissonant noise produced by academic elitists)

My own experience... My introduction to microtonality came when I somewhat
coincidentally attended a Newband performance of some of Partch's music.
(Including "Daphne.." and "Castor..") At that time, I knew nothing
whatsoever of tuning theory -- definitions of consonance/dissonance, prime
limits, commas, melodic lemons, or whatever. I did not even know the
difference between equal temperament and just intonation! Yet this music
thrilled my soul. It was absolutely glorious. My entire way of perceiving
and thinking about music was forever dramatically altered from one single
concert. Shortly after this single hearing of these pieces I began
voraciously reading everything I could find on tuning topics, and
eventually ended up a regular reader of this list. I also spent time and
money lovingly designing and constructing my own electric JI guitar from
scratch (which I enjoy playing with at least some small degree of
competence, if not spectacularly dexterous). I have built up a fairly
respectable understanding of the principles behind various tuning systems
and snatched up lots of wonderful recordings of non-12ET music both just
and tempered.

All this from one completely unbiased, naive experience with real music.
Strangely enough, Partch's music is based upon all of the things that Gregg
Gibson so strongly objects to as being of any value-- small intervals,
7-limit intervals, 11-limit intervals, commas, and even just intonation
itself! (Apparently because they do not fit into his specific 19ET
theories.) As we well know, no human being could possibly find these
musical elements acceptable -- only "aliens" could enjoy this.
(Extraterrestrials or illegal immigrants?) And yet, somehow I was so
deeply fascinated and powerfully moved. Again, I was not motivated simply
by some blind adherence to my pet theories. I had none whatsoever at that
time.

The recent barrage of 19ET propaganda is not objectionable simply because
of violations of readers' subjective pet theories to which they are
desperately clinging against all reason. What is being objected to is
plain and simple ridiculous false information. I know many others on this
list have had similar experiences to mine. The proof of validity is not
simply in some kind of chart of consonances and modulations. Any
intelligent person can (and should) make calculations on a spreadsheet to
try correlating mathematical aspects of tunings with psychoacoustic data.
But validity is clearly demonstrated ONLY in real music's actual effect on
real people. If music such as Partch's has so powerfully affected so many
people, its worth is plainly obvious -- even if one person seems to object
to the way in which it was created. Charts and psychoacoustic theories are
nice, but there is no substitute for plain experience and simple honest
enjoyment for evaluating worth.

Incidently Gregg's more constructive posts (minus the obnoxious rhetoric)
have actually been quite informative and have honestly increased my
awareness and respect for 19ET. When I can get my hands on some fretwire
(and some spare time) I plan to refret the Stratocaster in my closet to
19ET and spend a lot of time exploring.

No one on the list seems to have objected the least bit to the idea that
19ET is a good system of tuning. It already seems to be probably the most
widespread microtonal tuning used. So the militant tone of Gregg's
insistence on 19ET is a bit peculiar. If you're trying to convince readers
of the benefits of 19ET, you're preaching to the converted. If you're
trying to convince members of this list that other tuning systems (and thus
the music) of Partch and many other non-19ETers are worthless, you have a
long and difficult road ahead of you, and I do not envy you.

If Gregg can recognizably perform "Daphne of the Dunes" in 19ET I will
humbly take back all of the above.


kp
(Sorry to belabor such obvious points. Hopefully the overly windy but
somewhat rare post to this list averages out the same as contributing more
reasonably-lengthed posts on a regular basis...)


SMTPOriginator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu
From: Gregg Gibson
Subject: Last Long Post for a While
PostedDate: 20-12-97 03:38:32
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