style and tunings

Haverstick here...you know, one of the best things about this forum is
that there's a lot of smart folks on here, so their comments can often
get one to thinking...just as the late, great Ivor Darreg observed that
each tuning has it's own characteristic feel, or mood, often it is true
that certain tuning systems fit certain stylistic frameworks as well.
For example, we all are a bit tired of 12/eq, but it really is a well
thought out and marvelous sort of compromise, especially when you con-
sider that it was intended to make it easier to move a lot of chords
around...for that function, 12 is killer. I'm listening to Kazuhito
Yamashita play Bach Violin Sonatas, and my jaw is dropping again. I
think this is one of the greatest musical performances I've ever heard,
and it's in 12/eq. Could Bach have composed this on a perely tuned
instrument? Maybe, if some innovative clavier builder had built a mas-
terpiece...but, I think Bach wanted to get his ideas out, anyway he
could.

In fact, think of this...here we all are, chatting about many systems
of tuning, but I bet many of us were primarily exposed to 12/eq through
much of our lives...this SOUND surely shaped many of us, in myriad ways,
both emotional and intellectual...there are doubtless untold mysteries
in the other systems that we barely know, simply because there is really
not much "micro" music in the Western world yet...and again, I say again,
the art of composition is still the least understood art of all, and one
which a lot of folks get a wee bit touchy about at times.

My great teacher, George Keith, told me great stories...he said the way
they used to weed out incompetent players on jams was as follows; they
played the tune "Cherokee" as fast as possible...if he survived that,
then they modulated through all 12 keys...if you could do that, you were
in. And that's why when I get a whiff of elitism concerning the supposed
superiority of any one system, I get a little pissy...I mean, the old
thing in the blues bars was the "head cuttin" contest, and it is only
meant to weed out the fakers. Again, I don't think you could do Parker
stuff in Partch's tuning...and, I surely don't think he planned it that
way, anyway.

But, the crux for me is this...I think it's important never to get blinded
by any one particular style in art...just check it out, see what they're
doing, and see if you can borrow anything to help you create your own thing.
So, when I looked into Partch, I found a lot of fascinating intellectual
ideas, and some out there music, and a fairly bitter, sarcastic feller at ti
at times, and I realized that my direction was much more oriented towards
blues and jazz as a base, and then absorbing whatever else I could as
well. I love music with a lot of chord changes, so I need a tuning that
fits that concept...19, too is killer for chordal music, and 31 and
34 as well...perhaps I'll develop the ability on fretless someday to
play changes.

Johnny Reinhard said something neat once when he said that 12/eq is a
microtonal tuning, too...I agree. I understand really well why it de-
veloped, and it worked great for what it was intended. It is time to
move it on, and I would hope that everyone involved in this field con-
tinues to share ideas and concepts with each other, hopefully in a
peaceful way. The field of tunings is really wide open, and could go
in a lot of directions...if we all realize that the music makes the
tuning, not the other way around, we will have realized the true essence
of art, which is to tap into the literally endless pool of possibilities
available in a Universe with 200 gadzillion stars and planets...HHH

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Date: Thu, 8 Aug 1996 06:21:53 -0700
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