Werntz to Hurtz

About the Julia Werntz doctoral dissertation...

First off, looking at single pages reproduced as .gif files has to be one of the weirdest ways of presenting textual material on the net I've ever seen. Except they seem to be protecting their investment in the material. Whatever.

And, especially since I may have time over the next few weeks to catch up on some reading, maybe this would have been good, and I'd try to be objective. What hurtz is that the objectivity is hard to maintain when the first paragraph of the abstract is so pointedly (and erroneously) slanted that I wonder how any faculty committee would approve the paper. First two sentences:

"In Part 1 the author compares the three primary rationales behind modern microtonalism, in an attempt to assess their artistic and theoretical integrity. These rationales are: a belief in just intonation, an interest in exotic tunings, and an urge simply to add pitches."

So she is going to "compare" a belief, an interest, and an urge. Hard to do when you've already laid down a pejorative gauntlet. And then the sentence comes that stops me in my particular tracks:

"The author concludes that just intonation and exotic tunings do not provide convincing rationales for microtonal composition, while a simple creative impulse to add pitches does, and that only a fully functional microtonal equal temperament (the third of the three methods) enables a composer to develop a genuinely microtonal music."

Therefore, Harry Partch has failed to develop a "genuinely microtonal music". Ditto Lou Harrison. And many others.

Simply adding pitches in between the 12tET yard markers is the only way to go. And, from Joe P.'s comments, not just any usage, but some pre/pro-scribed method, which only reading the rest of the paper will illuminate.

That kind of illumination I can pass on for the moment. In the meantime, I'm going to look for that article in PNM that Bill Sethares pointed out (if it is simple a printing of the doctoral paper I'll take a pass).

Some doctors are quacks.

Cheers,
Jon

`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`
Real Life: Orchestral Percussionist
Web Life: "Corporeal Meadows" - about Harry Partch
http://www.corporeal.com/
NOTE:
If your reply bounces, try --> jonszanto@yahoo.com

--- In tuning@y..., "Jonathan M. Szanto" <JSZANTO@A...> wrote:

> That kind of illumination I can pass on for the moment. In the
meantime,
> I'm going to look for that article in PNM that Bill Sethares
pointed out
> (if it is simple a printing of the doctoral paper I'll take a pass).
>
> Some doctors are quacks.

In math at any rate, it is SOP to take the best results from
your thesis and publish it as a paper. This could easily be
a boiled-down version of the thesis. I agree it sounds like crap,
but I seem to recall you roasting me for making a similar comment
about "Temperament".

--- In tuning@y..., "genewardsmith" <genewardsmith@j...> wrote:
> In math at any rate, it is SOP to take the best results from
> your thesis and publish it as a paper.

What would the 'results' be in this case? I'll have to read the
paper...

> I agree it sounds like crap, but I seem to recall you roasting me
> for making a similar comment about "Temperament".

Similar but not identical, so you have permission to par-boil me but
not roast. :) In any event, I was commenting on only the first
paragraph, and my comments on those statements alone stand as is.
Whether the BS of those few sentences are enough to make me avoid any
further investigation, only time and some thought will tell. Besides,
I just got Wolfram's new book tonight, which clocks in at 1200 pages.
Yikes...

Cheers,
Jon

(P.S. Gee, Gene, I spent a lot of time writing about your last piece,
and never heard a peep! Either I ruffled feathers, was totally dunder-
headed, or you just missed it?)

Besides,
I just got Wolfram's new book tonight, which clocks in at 1200 pages.
Yikes...

Thanks for the warning :-) I saw that on Amazon, but it wasn't shipping so I
decided to wait until some other folks had a shot at it.

--- In tuning@y..., "M. Edward Borasky" <znmeb@a...> wrote:
> Thanks for the warning :-) I saw that on Amazon, but it wasn't
> shipping so I decided to wait until some other folks had a shot
> at it.

Well, I might be a fool for getting it (ah, hell, when it comes to buying books I'm a fool on a weekly basis...), as it will take a long time and much may be beyond me (presently).

But, as noted on metatuning, he takes a large bulk of this from the study of cellular automata, which I discovered a long, long time ago through Martin Gardner's "Life" in Scientific American. And that, combined with a life-long interest in the patterns all around us (in nature, behavior, and art), will make for a good book to peruse at times. The illustrations are painstakingly good, and it would be worth it (once it doesn't fly off the shelves) to just thumb through it at your local bookstore.

Ed, aren't you in Portland? Powell's!!!

Cheers,
Jon

--- In tuning@y..., "jonszanto" <JSZANTO@A...> wrote:

> (P.S. Gee, Gene, I spent a lot of time writing about your last piece,
> and never heard a peep! Either I ruffled feathers, was totally dunder-
> headed, or you just missed it?)

Sorry, I probably missed it. I turn in grade reports tomorrow, so I'll have time to get caught up, have my feathers ruffled, and all kinds of neat stuff. Then I can go on and inflict a piece in Magic on a world which wonders if triads count as music any more.

--- In tuning@y..., "jonszanto" <JSZANTO@A...> wrote:

/tuning/topicId_37067.html#37086

> --- In tuning@y..., "M. Edward Borasky" <znmeb@a...> wrote:
> > Thanks for the warning :-) I saw that on Amazon, but it wasn't
> > shipping so I decided to wait until some other folks had a shot
> > at it.
>
> Well, I might be a fool for getting it (ah, hell, when it comes to
buying books I'm a fool on a weekly basis...), as it will take a long
time and much may be beyond me (presently).
>
> But, as noted on metatuning, he takes a large bulk of this from the
study of cellular automata, which I discovered a long, long time ago
through Martin Gardner's "Life" in Scientific American. And that,
combined with a life-long interest in the patterns all around us (in
nature, behavior, and art), will make for a good book to peruse at
times. The illustrations are painstakingly good, and it would be
worth it (once it doesn't fly off the shelves) to just thumb through
it at your local bookstore.
>
> Ed, aren't you in Portland? Powell's!!!
>
> Cheers,
> Jon

***It's a good book to have on one's coffee table, even if one
doesn't read it...

:)

jp

--- In tuning@y..., "jpehrson2" <jpehrson@r...> wrote:
> ***It's a good book to have on one's coffee table, even if one
> doesn't read it...

Just make sure it's a substantial and sturdy coffee table!

Cheers,
Jon