TUNING digest 835

Thanks to Daniel Wolf for explaining how Haba came to write a 31-tone
work. That quartet was recorded on LP. The music and performance both
suggest a somewhat casual work, with (as was pointed out) no particular
desire to use 31 as a quasi-just system.

Paul Rapoport


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Well, it looks like I'll get a chance to try out a few ideas at the Ninth
Annual Contemporary American Music Festival at South Dakota State
University in Brookings. If your are in the area, please stop by:

Thursday, Sept. 19th
"Microtonal Ear Training"/8:00 a.m. in Peterson Recital
"Completing Charles Ives's Universe Symphony/9:00 a.m. in Room 102

Friday, Sept. 20th
"The World of Alternative Tunings"/8:00 a.m. in Peterson
"Improvisation 101"/9:00 a.m. in Room 102

Following this residency I'm off to the Badlands for the weekend.

Regarding intervals and tunes for memorability, here are some of the ones
I've used:

2/1 (octave of 1200 cents) is the opening interval of "Somewhere Over the
Rainbow"

3/2 (perfect fifth of 702 cents) is the chant of the evil guards marching
around the wicked witch of the west's castle (incidentally added just for
the movie, probably for its primal power..."Oh, Eee Oh, Oh Eeee, Oh"

7/6 (small minor third of 267 cents) is the sound of kids going "Nah, nah!"

8/7 (large major second of 231 cents) is the sound of a person might make
thirsting for a drink in the desert (e.g. Harry Partch's Water, Water"
uses just this interval as a motif...that's where I got the idea...)

11/9 (just neutral third of 347.4 cents, or its rounded out neighbor in
the quartertone sphere) is the opening interval of the oldsmobile car horn

33/32 (just quartertone of 53 cents or a 50-cent quartertone) is the
difference between a concert B natural and a 60-cycle hum ( or merely
sing the bass line played by the electric bassoon in the opening of
Cowpeople by Jon Catler)


7/4 (a harmonic seventh of 969 cents) is the interval of the Indian
elephant (actually used for description in Hindi society)

5/4 (a just major third of 386 cents) I demonstrate using Hoomi technique
(basically a parting of the lips beginning with an almost sine wave hum

6/5 (minor third of 316 cents) is the opening interval in the tenor of A
Solis Ortus Cardine by Gilles de Binchois (which I have lead in concert
since 1981

Other intervals I grab from different pieces that I know from past
performance experiences. I believe, it's a lot more convincing to teach
intervals this way that it is to check with a tuning machine ad nauseum.
More entertaining, too.


Johnny Reinhard
Director
American Festival of Microtonal Music
318 East 70th Street, Suite 5FW
New York, New York 10021 USA
(212)517-3550/fax (212) 517-5495
reinhard@styx.ios.com


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