Re: Harmonics, commercial potential

> From: "Neil Haverstick" <STICK@USWEST.NET>
> Subject: harmonic series
>
> Here's something I was just thinking about...how teensy do the
> intervals eventually get in the upper reaches of the harmonic series?
> Does it ever reach a point where there are no more intervals? Does it
> fuse into some sort of....?

Assuming that your fundamental was so low that these super-high
harmonics were in the audible range, then they would only sound like
beating. Very high harmonics might beat every few years (or every few
centurys). For practical purposes, that is fusing in my book.

>
> From: "justin white" <JUSTINTONATION@HOTMAIL.COM>
> Subject: no commercial potential [Frank Zappa ?]
>
> Absolutely. I think they should. Though only professionals need to. Those
> into microtonal music as a hobby [not for a career]can make the music that
> most satisfies them. That stands for academic composers relying on grants
> too [although grant proposals are also subject to the whims and fancies of
> patrons]. People who would like to make money or a living from microtonal
> music have to consider things like markets. Am I not allowed to make
> suggestions for the benefit of those people ?
>

There are outlets for 'experimental' music to be commercially viable. This
may be film and TV scoring (all the twentieth century experiments are fair
game AS LONG AS PEOPLE DON'T REALLY HAVE TO LISTEN TO IT). Or, slap on some
loud enough 4/4-120 so that it is danceable. Or (and I anticipate that this
would be less successful), have some pouty MTV princess sing over it,
especially if the simultaneous imagery is sexual and/or violently oriented
to appeal to the adolescent male in all of us.

It may well be possible to have a 'big-time microtonal music career' using
techniques like the above (as it is possible in any art to 'wedge ones
thing' into the industry with varying amounts of honesty and payback).

Most 'fringe' artists (those who would finish a 'wedged' work and feel
dissatisfied with the results due to the compromises required to make the
'wedge'), have to settle for smaller audiences, smaller paychecks, and
will survive despite the industry.

Ives had a day job. Nowadays, we can communicate (find our audience of
500) on the internet) and self-produce works of pretty spectacular
quality at fairly small expense.

Bob Valentine

Robert Valentine wrote,

>Assuming that your fundamental was so low that these super-high
>harmonics were in the audible range, then they would only sound like
>beating. Very high harmonics might beat every few years (or every few
>centurys). For practical purposes, that is fusing in my book.

Robert, there would be no beat rate slower than the fundamental frequency
itself, no matter how high the harmonics.