Re: [tuning] Microtemperaments and acoustics-to Kraig

In a message dated 6/14/02 2:14:53 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
kraiggrady@anaphoria.com writes:

> Hello Mark!
> This has been more common than not. One has only to observe that Partch
> used only 4 of his
> pitches in his bottom range. When i used the 22 tone Pascal Eikosany i
> selected 9 to tune up.

Hi Kraig,

As a bassoonist and contrabassoonist I play in this low range regularly. The
larger distances actually make it easier bother for me to play microtones and
to hear the greater distances between pitches. Also, Partch's Li Po often go
lower than 1/1 and it is just as busy as higher stuff.

Couldn't we just say that faster vibrations (higher notes) need to move
faster than low vibrations, which need more time to speak?

best, Johnny Reinhard

Jay here,
Well, this problem of granularity obfuscagint microtonal intervals applies
to low notes only if those same notes have attenuated harmonic content.
Even a bass fiddele, let alone a bassoon or trombone or tuba has plenty of
higher harmonics that the ear can latch onto for discriminating pitches. My
take on all this is that while itmay be true that in the lower reaches of
our hearing we are less able to discriminate pitch definition, nature
seldom replicates lab conditions such as sine waves and single pitches
isolated from some other context. Interesting stuff, but not vfery
applicable to acoustically generated music.
At 11:20 AM 6/14/02 EDT, you wrote:
> In a message dated 6/14/02 2:14:53 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
>kraiggrady@anaphoria.com writes:
>
>
> Hello Mark!
> This has been more common than not. One has only to observe that Partch
>used only 4 of his
> pitches in his bottom range. When i used the 22 tone Pascal Eikosany i
>selected 9 to tune up.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> best, Johnny Reinhard
> You may subscribe through
> Send an empty email to one of these addresses:
> tuning-subscribe@yahoogroups.com - join the tuning group.
> tuning-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com - unsubscribe from the tuning group.
> tuning-nomail@yahoogroups.com - put your email message delivery on hold
>for the tuning group.
> tuning-digest@yahoogroups.com - change your subscription to daily digest
>mode.
> tuning-normal@yahoogroups.com - change your subscription to individual
>emails.
> tuning-help@yahoogroups.com - receive general help information.
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

Hello Jay/Johnny!
Thinking about its at work i remembered how so many 12 ET players prefer the fretless bass
because of its , "better intonation". so both our points are well taken. The use of less bass
notes by some probably has to do with the economics of bass instruments than anything.

Jay Williams wrote:

> Jay here,
> Well, this problem of granularity obfuscagint microtonal intervals applies
> to low notes only if those same notes have attenuated harmonic content.
> Even a bass fiddele, let alone a bassoon or trombone or tuba has plenty of
> higher harmonics that the ear can latch onto for discriminating pitches. My
> take on all this is that while itmay be true that in the lower reaches of
> our hearing we are less able to discriminate pitch definition, nature
> seldom replicates lab conditions such as sine waves and single pitches
> isolated from some other context. Interesting stuff, but not vfery
> applicable to acoustically generated music.
>
> >

-- Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria island
http://www.anaphoria.com

The Wandering Medicine Show
Wed. 8-9 KXLU 88.9 fm

When I did some serious contrabassoon playing last autumn, it was amazing how
much room there seemed to be between intervals. When I did the Ives Universe
Symphony recording on contra, I found that I could you scotch tape to lower
certain keys to the bore. Also, I could partially tape a tone hole when
needed. In this way I could turn an ET contra into Pythagorean tuning. It
was amazingly sensetive to pitch.

best, Johnny Reinhard