Boston Microtonal Society website

Dear Tuning List Members,

Many of you may be interested to see the new website we have created for the
Boston Microtonal Society.
http://BostonMicrotonalSociety.org

If you have trouble getting onto it, try another browser. Some older browsers, or
browsers that cannot display frames, may not work. (We are trying to fix this.)

-Julia Werntz

Hi again, Julia!

--- In tuning@y..., "jwerntz2002" <juliawerntz@a...> wrote:
> Many of you may be interested to see the new website we have
> created for the Boston Microtonal Society.
> http://BostonMicrotonalSociety.org

Very nice. Clean, clear, informative - you'll do well with this site.

> If you have trouble getting onto it, try another browser. Some older
> browsers, or browsers that cannot display frames, may not work. (We
> are trying to fix this.)

I think you're going to be OK (when you say "we", I don't know if you are personally involved), and from looking at the source code you've got Dreamweaver working for you, and the DW community will be able to come up with lots of solutions for the frames/noframes scenario.

In any event, since I've had to be a webmaster for about 8 years now in addition to music (http://www.corporeal.com/), feel free to write off-list if you have specific issues/problems.

Best of luck with the BMS site,
Jon

--- In tuning@y..., "jwerntz2002" <juliawerntz@a...> wrote:
> Dear Tuning List Members,
>
> Many of you may be interested to see the new website we have
created for the
> Boston Microtonal Society.
> http://BostonMicrotonalSociety.org
>
> If you have trouble getting onto it, try another browser. Some
older browsers, or
> browsers that cannot display frames, may not work. (We are trying
to fix this.)
>
> -Julia Werntz

thanks julia. looks really nice -- great work! i look forward to
seeing the music of many more microtonalists honored with links --
for example lamonte young (http://lamonteyoung.com/) and even don
ellis -- it mightbe worth looking at makemicromusic to get acquainted
with at least a few lesser-known artists, particularly those (prent
rodgers, an algorithmic JI composer, comes to mind) whose work
garners consistently enthusiastic reviews (in prent's case, even from
those unenthusiastic about algorithmic composition and those
unenthusiastic about JI). dan stearns might be another nice inclusion
since he did come into the "boston" orbit at one point . . .
unfortunately he said goodbye to the lists earlier this year.

btw, i followed your isacoff link, and i'm interested to see some .rm
files there. does anyone know how to listen to these, without giving
out your credit card number? anyhow, i'm interested by this
statement, the last on the page:

"When the synthesizer is placed in a tuning that preserves the ideal
proportions for thirds and fifths between some notes, the same Chopin
piece quickly loses its charm.
Listen to an example "

i need to hear this to be sure, but from the context i suspect that a
fixed 12-tone just tuning was used (as it was for the "just" examples
above it). this is disconcerting for two reasons:

1. as long as a synthesized piano sound is being used, one can easily
implement various forms of *adaptive* (rather than fixed) just
tuning, as on
http://bellsouthpwp.net/j/d/jdelaub/studio.htm
(not a bad link for your page)
this will completely eliminate the "wolf" problem while typically
keeping horizontal retuning motions within the subliminal range of 6
cents or less.

2. not a single form of temperament other than 12-equal, not even a
single example from the centuries in which bach lived, is honored
with a sound file. one can begin to remedy this by providing links
such as
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/ ( -- ed puts a few examples at
http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/399/six_degrees_of_tonality.html )
and
http://www.xs4all.nl/~huygensf/english/temperament.html

thanks for listening,
paul

my apologies, julia!

--- In tuning@y..., "wallyesterpaulrus" <wallyesterpaulrus@y...>
wrote:

> 1. as long as a synthesized piano sound is being used, one can
easily
> implement various forms of *adaptive* (rather than fixed) just
> tuning, as on
> http://bellsouthpwp.net/j/d/jdelaub/studio.htm
> (not a bad link for your page)

i left out a "j"! the correct link is:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/j/d/jdelaub/jstudio.htm

> this will completely eliminate the "wolf" problem while typically
> keeping horizontal retuning motions within the subliminal range of
6
> cents or less.

In-Reply-To: <aoio47+4s33@eGroups.com>
jwerntz2002 wrote:

> Many of you may be interested to see the new website we have created
> for the Boston Microtonal Society. http://BostonMicrotonalSociety.org

Hey, I get some links! One of them's out of date though. The "Intonation
Information" should be http://x31eq.com/tuning.htm and anybody
else with old CIX links had better update them as well. Change
cix.co.uk/~gbreed to microtonal.co.uk and it'll keep working after I
change ISPs.

Graham

In-Reply-To: <aoio47+4s33@eGroups.com>
I found this in the links:

http://www.research.umbc.edu/eol/dujunco/tuning.html

A Chinese scale that looks suspiciously like a mode of Rast.

Graham

Paul,

Thanks for those links.

For you and anyone else who may have links you feel we are missing, or news
you'd like us to announce, in the future please contact us through the BMS website,
on the "contact" link, in order to be sure we'll receive it. You can use the contact
form, or just email us at info@BostonMicrotonalSociety.org

it mightbe worth looking at makemicromusic to get acquainted
> with at least a few lesser-known artists,

There is a long list of musicians, a few well-known, and many not, who will be
added to the site. The people you see there now are just a first "wave." We're
always open to suggestions of new people and their music.

-Julia

--- In tuning@y..., graham@m... wrote:
> In-Reply-To: <aoio47+4s33@e...>
> I found this in the links:
>
> http://www.research.umbc.edu/eol/dujunco/tuning.html
>
> A Chinese scale that looks suspiciously like a mode of Rast.
>
>
> Graham

yup, i provided julia with this link and have discussed this
similarity to arabic scale before. the "arrows", however, typically
indicate pitches much more variable and less stable than
the "naturals", while in the arabic scale there is no such dichotomy.

Julia,

--- In tuning@y..., "jwerntz2002" <juliawerntz@a...> wrote:
> Paul,
>
> Thanks for those links.

I'll offer up a thanks to you for including Corporeal Meadows on the links - I know HP isn't your favorite!

> For you and anyone else who may have links you feel we are
> missing ... There is a long list of musicians, a few well-known,
> and many not, who will be added to the site

One thing I think some people don't take into consideration, when putting up a link page, is even a modest amount of discernment. When a page ends up as screenfuls of links, each link tends to becomes less and less valuable (this is an observation from web design/usability studies, not from musicians). People actually _appreciate_ it when some thought has gone into just _which_ links have been provided, rather than sheer numbers of places to go.

Just a thought...

Cheers,
Jon

In-Reply-To: <aojsg9+ej4v@eGroups.com>
wallyesterpaulrus wrote:

> yup, i provided julia with this link and have discussed this
> similarity to arabic scale before. the "arrows", however, typically
> indicate pitches much more variable and less stable than
> the "naturals", while in the arabic scale there is no such dichotomy.

There's a big variation in how Arab and Persian theorists have described
those notes. For Safi al-Din they were 5-limit schismic, but now they're
quartertones. That suggests they have been variable through history, and
may even have been movable notes the way this page describes.

Graham

Hi Jon.

> One thing I think some people don't take into consideration, when putting up a
link page, is even a modest amount of discernment. When a page ends up as
screenfuls of links, each link tends to becomes less and less valuable (this is an
observation from web design/usability studies, not from musicians). People
actually _appreciate_ it when some thought has gone into just _which_ links have
been provided, rather than sheer numbers of places to go.
>

It's true; one has to walk the line between not neglecting anyone unjustifiably and
an "anything goes" approach. We are applying our sense of "discernment" (or our
general aethetic views) with particular strictness in the musicians we feature on the
website itself, and one of the purposes of the links page is to direct anyone who
might have come to the site looking for resources on, say, non-Western tunings or
just intonation to some good ones. And for many of these, esp. the tuning theory,
acoustics, non-Western tuning and historical tuning, I took advantage of Paul's
excellent sense of discernment.

I hope it's not already too overwhelming a list...

Thanks.

-Julia

Julia,

--- In tuning@y..., "jwerntz2002" <juliawerntz@a...> wrote:
> I hope it's not already too overwhelming a list...

Nay, it's going fine. I really like the site, esp compared to a lot of music sites. BTW, what's with the elephant? :)

Cheers,
Jon

--- In tuning@y..., graham@m... wrote:
> In-Reply-To: <aojsg9+ej4v@e...>
> wallyesterpaulrus wrote:
>
> > yup, i provided julia with this link and have discussed this
> > similarity to arabic scale before. the "arrows", however,
typically
> > indicate pitches much more variable and less stable than
> > the "naturals", while in the arabic scale there is no such
dichotomy.
>
> There's a big variation in how Arab and Persian theorists have
described
> those notes. For Safi al-Din they were 5-limit schismic, but now
they're
> quartertones. That suggests they have been variable through
history, and
> may even have been movable notes the way this page describes.
>
>
> Graham

that would suggest an underlying pentatonic framework, which is
unknown to arabic theory but is of course at the heart of chinese.

--- In tuning@y..., "jwerntz2002" <juliawerntz@a...> wrote:

/tuning/topicId_39631.html#39631

> Dear Tuning List Members,
>
> Many of you may be interested to see the new website we have
created for the
> Boston Microtonal Society.
> http://BostonMicrotonalSociety.org
>
> If you have trouble getting onto it, try another browser. Some
older browsers, or
> browsers that cannot display frames, may not work. (We are trying
to fix this.)
>
> -Julia Werntz

***This is quite nice. The big *elephant*, though, makes me think
it's some kind of "political statement..." :)

J. Pehrson

> ***This is quite nice. The big *elephant*, though, makes me think
> it's some kind of "political statement..." :)
>
Oh, please, no. There is no political symbolism there. (If there was, it would
probably be more like a donkey or even a Socialist rose or some such thing.)

-Julie

--- In tuning@y..., "Jon Szanto" <JSZANTO@A...> wrote:
> --- In tuning@y..., "jwerntz2002" <juliawerntz@a...> wrote:

> > For you and anyone else who may have links you feel we are
> > missing ... There is a long list of musicians, a few well-known,
> > and many not, who will be added to the site
>
> One thing I think some people don't take into consideration, when putting up a link page, is even a modest amount of discernment.

Does that mean I don't get a link? :)

--- In tuning@y..., "Gene Ward Smith" <genewardsmith@j...> wrote:
> Does that mean I don't get a link? :)

Hey, I was speaking in a generalist sense - I'd never seek to keep someone particular out! In any event, I was pretty floored to see the Partch site in there, so go figure. I hope you get included (c'mon, Gene, time is long overdue that you have your own proper site, with papers, musings (and music-ings) and related materials - then they could link to it!)

Again, only stated in opposition to the "Links" pages that then contain dozens or hundreds of links - I prefer the editorial hand of the hosting site, letting me know what they *really* think is the good stuff...

Cheers,
Jon

--- In tuning@y..., "jwerntz2002" <juliawerntz@a...> wrote:

/tuning/topicId_39631.html#39701

>
> > ***This is quite nice. The big *elephant*, though, makes me
think
> > it's some kind of "political statement..." :)
> >
> Oh, please, no. There is no political symbolism there. (If there
was, it would
> probably be more like a donkey or even a Socialist rose or some
such thing.)
>
> -Julie

***Just kidding, Julie, of course. Welcome back! If you get a
chance, could you please report your experiences getting players to
play 72-tET for the first time?? Especially, if it was a new concept
to them??

Thanks!

Joseph P.