non-equal/non-Just scales HURRAH!

>I would say that none of the below cultures are based on JI. In fact they
>go out of there way to avoid ET and JI alike. Some luck has been accomplished
>along the line of difference tones.... Gagaku on the other hand appears to
>have Parallel tunings going on simultaneously

"Paul H. Erlich" wrote:
>
> >many non-Western cultures -- Japanese, Indonesian, African, Balinese, as
> well as native American >Indian -- base their music on [just intonation]
>
> It seems that those who decry the imperialist Western ET manifesto are
> quickest to impose their own tuning ideas on other cultures with no
> foundation in fact.

I am learning more & more just being on this list. Thanx you guys, etc..

I am finding that I like a lotta scales that are non-Equal & non-Just scales
with highly irregular intervals... Must be becuz I come from a South East
Asian background (Chinese-Indonesian). I grew up somewhat familar with
Indonesian musics (my father sometimes would play records & tapes of
gamelan music... but not as often as "conventional" Classical music &
'60's music: Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, etc.).

I think I'll work on non-Equal & non-Just scales
with highly irregular intervals having parallel tuning (i.e. overlapping
5-tone Pelog patets) & difference tones (difference tonality?).

Now what would be a good sampler/synth or "tweakable" synth
for non-Equal & non-Just scales
with highly irregular intervals?
Would an Ensoniq ASR-X Pro (sampler/synth) work?
How about an Ensoniq MR-61 or MR-76 (wavetable synth)?
{the above-mentioned all have MIDI Tuning Dump Standard;
and are accurate down to 0.39 cent (pretty good compared to others)
& the MR's also have preset tunings from around the world AND
modern experimenters' scales ... not restricted to 12-note octaves!!!}

zHANg

> [zHANg, TD 322.7]
>
> I am finding that I like a lotta scales that are non-Equal
> & non-Just scales with highly irregular intervals... Must be
> becuz I come from a South East Asian background (Chinese-
> Indonesian). I grew up somewhat familar with
> Indonesian musics (my father sometimes would play records &
> tapes of gamelan music... but not as often as "conventional"
> Classical music & '60's music: Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, etc.).
>
> I think I'll work on non-Equal & non-Just scales with highly
> irregular intervals having parallel tuning (i.e. overlapping
> 5-tone Pelog patets) & difference tones (difference tonality?).
>
> Now what would be a good sampler/synth or "tweakable" synth
> for non-Equal & non-Just scales with highly irregular intervals?
> Would an Ensoniq ASR-X Pro (sampler/synth) work? How about an
> Ensoniq MR-61 or MR-76 (wavetable synth)? {the above-mentioned
> all have MIDI Tuning Dump Standard; and are accurate down to
> 0.39 cent (pretty good compared to others) & the MR's also have
> preset tunings from around the world AND modern experimenters'
> scales ... not restricted to 12-note octaves!!!}

------

Brian McLaren has done a lot of good work in non-just
non-equal scales. You can write him at:

Brian McLaren
2462 SE Micah Pl
Corvallis, OR 97333-1966

He makes a point of emphasizing that corresponding is not as
easy as email; I highly recommend it in this case. He could
probably guide you well in selection of equipment for nEnJ music.

Here's a scrap of info, mainly stemming from conversations,
listenings, and improv sessions I had with Brian in San Diego
last fall:

http://www.ixpres.com/interval/dict/njne.htm

I thought there was more on my website about it, but I can't
find it now... hmmm... Also, I admit to some inconsistencies
about the ordering and abbreviations of the wording:
non-equal non-just non-octave etc. Any ideas on a consensus?

I recently wrote Brian and just the other day received
his reply: a typically generous package of 5 CDs of his
own music, and a 22-page missive written personally to me.

Most of the letter is a familiar long McLaren rant :)
(those of you who've been 'attacked' with so much loving
care know what I mean), but it was done from the heart.

Of course it's packed with dozens of highly informative
quotes from his vast library of references concerning tuning
and acoustics, directly refuting my most cherished ideas
concerning tuning, and thus about music and the universe
and God in general. Gives me plenty to think about.

But at this point my interest in the design of visualizations
of tuning mathematics has become paramount, for the ultimate
purpose of creating a friendlier tool for composing the music
I hear in my head and want to share audibly with others.
My JustMusic software project (in progress) is the strongest
expression of the interest and the need together, and I owe
inspiration for some more recent parts of it to this List.

Brian's an amazingly prolific composer (probably because he
strenously avoids wasting his time reading Tuning List postings,
heh heh...), writing series of pieces that systematically go
thru a whole set of ET, JI, or nEnJ tunings using various
contrapuntal systems, with (it appears to me) a strong emphasis
on a linear (i.e., melodic) conception, the various mixing
and clashing of those separate lines being Brian's way of
giving a sharp-edged definition to the perceptual characteristics
of each individual tuning. He has his most fun comparing
different members of a family of tunings (a la Easley Blackwood,
Ivor Darreg, but on a far vaster scale... kind of... uh...
Mahlerian...), each one a discrete little gem in the puzzle
which shows the whole picture.

(PS to zHANg: Please do me a favor and mail a copy of this
posting, including your original post which I quoted, with
your letter. Brian doesn't get this List, and not only would
he appreciate your interest in these scales (since he feels
he's one of the few and one of the proud), but also, some of
this ended up becoming my initial personal (oops!) response
to him too.

(PPS to Brian: rest assured that, while I admit to being
addicted to this List a couple of different times, each for a
few-month-period, and can understand your sincere concern
over that, they were phases; other developments in my life
have since taken precedence. Please think over what you wrote
me and now breathe a *huge* sigh of relief. I suppose, as
with many other subscribers, my interest and the time I devote
to this List wax and wane according to many other shifting
currents.)

BTW, there are some *veeeeeeeeeeeerrry* interesting tunings
happening in Bob Dylan's vocals...

-monz

Joseph L. Monzo Philadelphia monz@juno.com
http://www.ixpres.com/interval/monzo/homepage.html
|"...I had broken thru the lattice barrier..."|
| - Erv Wilson |
--------------------------------------------------

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