bounced mess #6

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Justin Weaver" <improvist@u...> wrote:

/tuning/topicId_26876.html#45995
> Yes, I'm sure that if you played a melody in 13-limit JI over and
over on the radio, that
> people would ultimately start singing it in perfect intonation--if
it were catchy and
> sung by Britney Spears... But the questions remain: Why didn't the
culture poop out
> 13-limit JI in the first place? and why has no extant culture ever
done so? I think it's
> because people don't start singing music because a theorist told
them to do it; they
> sing (and play instruments) because they enjoy it. Any tuning
structure that requires
> extensive theory to explain will never catch on in practice, even
if the culture buys
> into the explanatory nature of the theory. Theory is usually
(always?) rationalized by
> practice.

***I'm not entirely certain I understand the relationship between
folk/pop music and "studied" music in this thread. Frequently these
styles exist independent of one another and *survive* independently
of one another, even if the "learned" music is only known by a
minority. I'm not sure I can categorically say a piece of music
is "better" if it has accessible or populist elements in it. It all
depends on the *details* of the music, and I don't believe this is
something that can be generalized...

J. Pehrson