Re: Microtonal carillon (reply to D. Burgess from Carl Lumma)

Hello Darren!

>
> >This post and the html file contain my latest thoughts on the tuning for
> the >microtonal carillon I am building. The carillon will use steel bars
> driven >by solenoids and amplified through large outdoor PA speakers.
>

I remember this boy when he was in Denny's carport filled with cobwebs!

>
>
> >The first table in the file is the 15 limit tonality diamond, nothing
new...

No, but one helluva good scale!

>
>
> >I have successfully developed a method for achieving this relationship
> >of partials to a great level of accuracy.

Rock!

>
> >The second table in the file illustrates the keyboard layout. It
features
> >128 keys in an 8 by 16 format. The keyboard can be either a matrix midi
> >controller or use simple analog swiches to drive the solenoids directly.

Analog switches, all the way. Just be sure they feel good!

>
> >I believe this arrangement gives the best of both worlds. It allows for

> >playing of the 8x8 matrix in its pure form, and at the same time uses
the
> >matrix resources as a scale allowing for voice leading, chord inversions
> >and melodic lines not possible with a strict matrix.
>

Could you illustrate? I can't see what your changes amount to.

>

Who will be playing it? You? Then what really counts is do you like it.

>
> >There are of course large gaps (esp. between 1/1 and 16/15, 15/8 and
2/1)
> >which could be filled in Partch-style with secondary intervals to yeild
a
> >continuous 15 limit scale.
>

I wouldn't worry about the gaps too much. You're not going to be playing
the whole thing as a melody, are you? I think the melodic resources of
this scale are its harmonic and subharmonic series segments. There are
plenty of very small intervals near the center of the diamond for effects,
if you want them.

The other question is, how many tones do you have to work with? I'd
rather
have a three octaves of straight diamond than two of enriched diamond.

>
>
> >I have played around with substituting some of the duplicated intervals
in
> >the keyboard (ie 1/1, 2/1, 4/3, 3/2, 8/5, 5/3 and 6/5) and including
the
> >resourses that Partch added to his scale. I was actually able to
include
> >all of his secondary intervals, although substituting these intervals in
> for >the repeated ones creates alot of inconsistancy in the keyboard
> fingerings >for some of the basic scales.
>

Wilson has shown that Partch (unconsciously) selected his secondary ratios
based on a linear series (chain of fifths). Are you familiar with
Wilson's
work ala Xenharmonikon 3?

Adding secondary ratios to a diamond keyboard layout is asking for
trouble.
Partch's keyboard designs always had the complete scale arranged
chromatically, with seperate diamonds.

But it can be done without loss of fingering consistency, on the linear
series. Erv has a (unpublished) keyboard program for the 15-limit diamond
called Quert. These keyboards have their own drawbacks, but you may like
to be aware of them before you proceed.

Carl