Joe Monzo's book

>From: Gary Morrison

>> I would like to offer my book to anyone who is
>> interested, at its current stage of completeness
>> (about 90 - 95% finished), for $43 US ($40 for
>> the book and $3 postage).
>
> I guess I may as well ask: What's your book about?

Wow -- guess I've been away from the List longer
than I thought.

My book is called "JustMusic: A New Harmony --
Representing Pitch as Prime Series". It's been
about 14 years in the works.

It gives first a mathematical explanation of how ratios
can be factored into the series of prime numbers, each
prime raised to a different exponent (where any prime
to the 0th power = 1), and then these products are
multiplied together to give the ratio.

The rest of the book shows how my lattice diagrams
are designed by making use of this prime factorization,
with the diagrams becoming more and more complex
as I give an overview thru both increasing prime
limits and historical chronology.

The historical aspect gives all of the different
just-intonation tuning systems I have found in doing
my research, presented from one viewpoint, which
I have found makes it easier to understand how
different tuning theories have evolved and interacted
with each other.

It goes back to ancient Greek and Indian systems,
and progresses all the way up to present-day
composers such as La Monte Young, Ben Johnston,
Ezra Sims, and others, with special emphasis given
to Harry Partch and Arnold Schoenberg.

As you would think by my inclusion of Schoenberg,
I have also given some reference to some of the
more popular equal-temperaments, especially
12-equal, and how some theorists have "justified"
or explained the use of these temperaments by
emphasis on their good or bad representation
of particular ratios. Notably absent from the book
(as it stands now) is coverage of meantone and
well temperaments.

Part of the reason behind my cross-country trip
was to meet with west-coast microtonalists and
put info about their work into the later chapters.
Any of you using a particular or unique tuning
system are welcome to submit a representative
score with an explanation of the tuning.

My living situation in San Diego has not yet been
stabilized, so email me for a mailing address at:

joe_monzo@hotmail.com

For more information, with examples of lattice
diagrams and lots of MIDI audio examples,
visit my website at:

http://onramp.uscom.com/~monz
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The original title of the Danielou book is "Introduction to the study of
musical scales". Pretty much identical to the reprint. Please bear in mind
the following points.

According to people I've spoken to at the Indian Cultural Centre here in
London, Danielou's ratios are divergent from actual tuning practice and are
definitely not accepted by Classical Indian musicians

>From a Just Intonation point of view his analysis is a five limit system.
Which he justifies in the following way:

"The number 5 "humanizes" music. It makes it the instrument of the
expression no longer of abstract prototypes but of a tangible reality. The
introduction of any higher prime number would take us beyond this reality
into dangerous regions which are not within the scope of our normal
perceptions and understanding. 7 is the number of the heavenly worlds as
well as that of the infernal regions, and we have usually no means of
knowing to which side it may lead us
The intervals which contain the element 7 cannot be physically pleasant,
being, by definition, beyond the limits of physical harmony; their magical
effect also is normally beyond our control. Consequently, their utilization
in music and its theory serves no useful purpose." (Introduction to Musical
Scales p231)

Strange prejudice that against a prime number. Still I suppose it would be
interesting to hear if any JI enthusiasts have suffered any metaphysical
nasties through delving beyond the five limit. Personally I haven't.

Otherwise an excellent and stimulating book.

Brian Lee

Brian Lee wrote,

>According to people I've spoken to at the Indian Cultural Centre here
in
>London, Danielou's ratios are divergent from actual tuning practice and
are
>definitely not accepted by Classical Indian musicians

Really? They are virtually identical to the ratios I've seen propounded
by S. Ramanathan and countless others. Can you tell us what the Indian
Cultural Centre says?