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the ears have it

🔗Drew Skyfyre <skyfyre@xxxxxxxx.xxxx>

4/24/1999 7:39:18 AM

Just a thought I have when I see all the microscopic analysis of microtonal theory,
especially those involving discussions with ratios of 3 digits & above. Are you using
some method to actually accurately listen for & hear the stuff you're talking about, or
are you relying on the approimations of cent based tuning tables or pitch-bend
implementations ?

Since cents are regularly used in these discussion, it would appear that the latter is
the case. In which case there could be a problem with some of the conclusions drawn being
suspect. The cheapest solution is of course, Csound. Doesn't have to be anything fancy for
research purposes, simple waveforms like Sawtooth, etc. or the Karplus-Strong "Pluck" sound".
Oh, when looking up info on Csound, please start at the official site,
<http://mitpress.mit.edu/e-books/csound/frontpage.html > You'll be better off.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. Personally I can tell the difference between the cent
approximations of my Yamaha's XG -64/+63 cent tuning tables & precise pitches
generated Csound. Not off-hand, of course, but if compared.

--
_________________________________________________________

Drew Skyfyre <skyfyre@usa.net>

Peaches : Drew's Place in Cyberspace
featuring the web's only resource for Microtonal Guitar
<http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Palais/8151/index.html>

"Don't call me pure soul, it irritates me"
- Judy Garland in The Pirate
_________________________________________________________

🔗Daniel Wolf <DJWOLF_MATERIAL@xxxxxxxxxx.xxxx>

4/26/1999 9:00:16 AM

I'm just back from New Hampshire, Connecticut, Mississippi and New Orleans
(please don't ask why). Going through postings of the last month, I found
this:

Message text written by INTERNET:tuning@onelist.com
>From: Drew Skyfyre <skyfyre@Phreaker.net>

Just a thought I have when I see all the microscopic analysis of microtonal
theory,
especially those involving discussions with ratios of 3 digits & above. Are
you using
some method to actually accurately listen for & hear the stuff you're
talking about, or
are you relying on the approimations of cent based tuning tables or
pitch-bend
implementations ?
<

This is an extremely important point. Whenever I come across statements
about intonational perception or tolerance, a yellow caution light goes off
in my head. Over the years, I have used (1) wave form generators,
oscilloscopes and a frequency counter, (2) a Rayna double precision
synth-in-box, (3)a wave form generator in Mathematica, and, most recently,
(4) AcidWAV and WAVMaker. Whenever I have used the Rayna or the WAV
programs and then made comparisons on standard midi instruments (either my
sound card or a TX81Z), the midi instruments have always been strikingly
out-of-tune, even in faster music with fewer sustained sounds. While the
noise content in most midi instruments may be a contributing factor, my
impression is that greater accuracy in the Rayna or WAV programs is
perceptable.

On the other hand, when working with voices or acoustical instruments
without fixed pitches, intonation acquires such dynamic and contextual
qualities that my perception is qualitatively different. Thus, when using
electronics, I want it as exact as possible, but when using voices in
instruments, 'exactitude' is very different.

Daniel Wolf
Frankfurt