Old bone

Quite a while ago, I said...

>}Probably the greatest expert on modulation in JI who ever lived was Partch,
>}and I'm sure I've heard effects not possible in temperament in Rotate the
>}Body and Delusion.


And Paul Erlich replied...

>I'm sure you can transcribe all Partch music in 72TET and not lose anything
>in the modulatory effects. [snip] Nothing special about JI.


But there is something special about JI as far as modulatory effects go:
its consistency level is infinite. 72tET is only level 2 consistent at the
11 limit. Any modulation in JI following a chain of 3 or more 11/8's will
no longer be represented consistently in 72tET.

I must confess I do not know if such a modulation appears in Partch's
music. Careful listening would tell. Such a modulation is not possible in
the 11 limit tonality diamond as such. But Partch was not tied to the
diamond as such. He added secondary tonalities as he needed them, and I'm
sure he would have no problem with modulating the entire diamond by some
interval.


Carl