composing

Haverstick aboard...I was recently listening to my 19/oct piece
"Mysteries" which I just recorded (the music appeared in
Xenharmonicon16), and it made me reflect on the plusses and minuses of
tuning systems. This piece has over 40 different chords, and is in no
key whatever, plus it's a monster to solo over (especially if you're
improvising). I sometimes feel "guilty" because I don't play in just
tuning (which I call pure tuning), but tell me...how could I play a
piece like "Mysteries" in pure tuning? Perhaps I'm out to lunch, but it
seems that the structure of the piece does not lend itself to this
system. What kind of just system would allow one to use so many
different chords freely? When Lou Harrison says "Just intonation is the
best intonation," for what sort of music is he referring to? I really
like using tons of chords in some of my pieces...perhaps this is a
dilemma which other composers through the ages have found themselves in
regards to eq temps versus pure tunings. I don't always write modal
works, although I love that sort of music as well.
Anyway, hoping to get some comments...Hstick

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Someone asked off-line where Purchase College is. It's located in Westchester
County, New York near White Plains (that's north of New York City).
For detailed travel directions, check out the following URL:
http://www.purchase.edu/directns.htm

John

---
John G. Pusey
xen@tiac.net



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