In search of...

Dear List,

I am confused. Some others may be as well. Not only have their been
splinter lists that are now drying out or have already folded, but this list
has changed. Not only have their been people posting flames under fake
names, but this list has been kept unaware of what has been determined.

There has been a false Mr. Zill, a false Silly Miss Comma-Pump (here fully
acknowledged), and I suspect a false Xavier. Whether or not the identity of
the prankster is proved, things have substantially changed, at least for me.

I still see lots of numbers, including cents fractions up to 3 places to the
right of the decimal points, even though there is a math list. And since I
haven't been able to join a pantheon of lists, I would be glad for this, if
not....

My biggest frustration is that the part of music that I have the most to
offer is in performance practice. This list is clearly not the right place
for this information. Besides the derision that accompanies what often seems
fantastic, there really aren't that many individuals on this list that care
about actual people playing actual microtonal music.

It seems that there is more bullying and more dysfunction than ever. Now,
this may be true for lots of lists on the Internet, or for people in general.
However, I would rather hold this list to a higher standard. Perhaps I was
wrong. Maybe I needed a "microtonal music" list, but I haven't the time to
moderate or coordinate.

So much music is going on already. Pretending it is not is no advantage.

I hope you all find peace. I will just read for a while.

Johnny Reinhard

--- In tuning@y..., Afmmjr@a... wrote:

/tuning/topicId_25711.html#25711

> Dear List,
>
> I am confused. Some others may be as well. Not only have their
been splinter lists that are now drying out or have already folded,
but this list has changed. Not only have their been people posting
flames under fake names, but this list has been kept unaware of what
has been determined.
>

Hi Johnny...

Well, yes there are now several different lists but, as it turns out,
it is all for the good.

Tuning Math

/tuning-math/messages

is really where most of the more "intensive" math posts should go.

Not every likes to read them...

There are other more "general" matters on that list as well, but I
believe when those occur, people pretty much try to bring them over
to the "biggie" list, which is STILL the "biggie," so to speak, since
at 463 members it is by FAR the largest audience...

> There has been a false Mr. Zill

Well, all of this was very unfortunately, but it really is not the
fault of any of the tuning lists. People do some bad things
sometimes... [Even Nixon said, "I am not a crook..."] As far as I am
concerned, I could care less who did all this, and don't want to
know, but I sincerely hope such incidents don't happen again...

If you really are interested in finding out more about whodoneit
(whocaresit) you should go to "Metatuning..."

/metatuning/messages

>
> I still see lots of numbers, including cents fractions up to 3
places to the right of the decimal points, even though there is a
math list.

Only three?? We should strive for more accuracy! :)

I agree, Johnny, such posts should be on TUNING MATH...

>
> My biggest frustration is that the part of music that I have the
most to offer is in performance practice. This list is clearly not
the right place for this information. Besides the derision that
accompanies what often seems fantastic, there really aren't that many
individuals on this list that care about actual people playing actual
microtonal music.

Gee... I don't know, Johnny. There is certainly *me* which is one of
my main things... but you may have felt more comfortable with Jacky
Ligon's _Practical Microtonality_ which got blown up. (Unfortunately)

Now there is a substitute, "Crazy Music..."

/crazy_music/messages

Not quite as "distinguished" a title as "Practical Microtonality,"
but there you have it...

> wrong. Maybe I needed a "microtonal music" list, but I haven't the
time to moderate or coordinate.
>

Well... I think that's what "Crazy Music" is supposed to be... I
would agree with you that a title like "microtonal music" would be
preferable...

One thing that *I* have learned, and I mean this sincerely, since I
didn't understand it at first, is that the lists will EVOLVE or
DEVOLVE *NATURALLY*... In other words, if there is a *need*
for "Metatuning" or "Tuning Math" it will stay but, if not, it will
sit dormant.

It's kind of Darwinian, but in a pleasant and positive way...

That's *my* take, anyway...

best,

________ ________ _______
Joseph Pehrson

--- In tuning@y..., Afmmjr@a... wrote:
> My biggest frustration is that the part of music that I have the
most to
> offer is in performance practice. This list is clearly not the
right place
> for this information. Besides the derision that accompanies what
often seems
> fantastic, there really aren't that many individuals on this list
that care
> about actual people playing actual microtonal music.

Actual people playing actual microtonal music, live, in the flesh,
here in Portland Oregon, or even nearby Seattle, are hard to find.
Portland has a *thriving* symphony, *two* thriving new music
ensembles, a world-class chamber music festival every summer, a
wonderful classical music radio station, a world-class Bach festival
in Eugene, a couple of hours away, a vibrant pop music scene,
shakuhachi teachers, modern dance companies, and, as far as I can
tell, exactly *one* microtonal composer. He happens to be -- I happen
to be -- a *studio* composer, who works exclusively in the domain of
music composed by and performed by digital computers, not live
performances. And this composer has a demanding full-time day job and
two other hobbies :-).

The closest model I've found for my situation is, I suppose, Charles
Ives, who had a comfortable day job in the insurance business and
found the time somehow to change the face of American music forever.
Am I that good? Probably not. However, my previous compositions, most
of which I've lost over the years, are unlike anything I've heard
elsewhere, and given the primitive tools I had to work with when I
did them, are nothing to be ashamed of. I wish I knew where the tapes
were.

But where do I go to hear *new* microtonal music live? I've got all
the CDs I can find, and I've downloaded most of the music posted by
the folks on this list. Short of hauling off and moving to New York,
the only way I'm going to hear *live* microtonal music is by hiring a
hall and playing my own.

> So much music is going on already. Pretending it is not is no
advantage.

You are very lucky to live where it *is* going on in live
performances. The beauty of the Internet is that, at least for us
*studio* musicians, we can play to the world and listen to the world
now. I've spent the past few months plowing through the writings of
Partch and Xenakis, the two composers who have influenced me the
most. I've found some common threads -- ancient Greek music, for
example -- and there is quite a bit of synergy.

I am in the design stages of software to integrate their two
theories, software which will ultimately create music for me to sit
and listen to, capture and possibly even publish. It will be
microtonal/xentonal, it will be generated by a computer and it will
be algorithmically composed -- of that much I am certain, though of
little else at the moment.

I certainly don't intend to let list shenanigans and flame wars deter
me from what I'm doing, and I have no expectations of fame or
fortune -- not even expectations of recognition, for that matter. I'm
doing it because I want to and because I can. And somehow I suspect
most of the other people on this list and all the other "tuning"
lists are doing what they want to do and what they can do as well.
--
M. Edward (Ed) Borasky, Chief Scientist, Borasky Research
http://www.borasky-research.net http://www.aracnet.com/~znmeb
mailto:znmeb@borasky-research.com mailto:znmeb@aracnet.com

Q: How do you get an elephant out of a theatre?
A: You can't. It's in their blood.