Little Canon

http://www.akjmusic.com/audio/LittleCanon.ogg
http://www.akjmusic.com/audio/LittleCanon.mp3

...another work in nanotempered JI (441-eq), in a neo-Bartokian
'Mikrokosmos' pedagogical style, using 7-limit intervals, including
12/7 and 14/9.

Enjoy, comments welcome. PDF Score may come later...

-A.

I'm afraid I did not find this piece particularly to my liking. Surely you
can do way better without sacrificing simplicity!

Oz.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Aaron Krister Johnson" <aaron@dividebypi.com>
To: <tuning@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: 02 Mart 2007 Cuma 19:10
Subject: [tuning] Little Canon

> http://www.akjmusic.com/audio/LittleCanon.ogg
> http://www.akjmusic.com/audio/LittleCanon.mp3
>
> ...another work in nanotempered JI (441-eq), in a neo-Bartokian
> 'Mikrokosmos' pedagogical style, using 7-limit intervals, including
> 12/7 and 14/9.
>
> Enjoy, comments welcome. PDF Score may come later...
>
> -A.
>
>

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Ozan Yarman" <ozanyarman@...> wrote:
>
> I'm afraid I did not find this piece particularly to my liking.
Surely you
> can do way better without sacrificing simplicity!

Oz,

I appreciate the listen. I'd love for you to formulate what you found
didn't work for you more specifically. If I read you correctly, you
found it too complex, right? Perhaps so. I'd love to do another, more
naked version of the same idea.

(It helps to hear all the angles from people.)

I set myself the task of limiting the range in each hand ('part') to a
fifth---typical of a lot of beginning piano music. As I said on MMM,
making music (i.e. high-quality on the level of Bartok's 'Mikrokosmos'
, etc.) for 'children' is very hard, and sounding natural at it is a
state of grace. If you have objective advice on how to do this better,
I'd love to hear it!

Best,
Aaron.

>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Aaron Krister Johnson" <aaron@...>
> To: <tuning@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: 02 Mart 2007 Cuma 19:10
> Subject: [tuning] Little Canon
>
>
> > http://www.akjmusic.com/audio/LittleCanon.ogg
> > http://www.akjmusic.com/audio/LittleCanon.mp3
> >
> > ...another work in nanotempered JI (441-eq), in a neo-Bartokian
> > 'Mikrokosmos' pedagogical style, using 7-limit intervals, including
> > 12/7 and 14/9.
> >
> > Enjoy, comments welcome. PDF Score may come later...
> >
> > -A.
> >
> >
>

----- Original Message -----
From: "Aaron Krister Johnson" <aaron@dividebypi.com>
To: <tuning@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: 03 Mart 2007 Cumartesi 16:30
Subject: [tuning] Re: Little Canon

> --- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Ozan Yarman" <ozanyarman@...> wrote:
> >
> > I'm afraid I did not find this piece particularly to my liking.
> Surely you
> > can do way better without sacrificing simplicity!
>
> Oz,
>
> I appreciate the listen. I'd love for you to formulate what you found
> didn't work for you more specifically.

I just cannot correctly put it in words, but I found it dull to listen to
because of the repetition of same pitches, lack of nuances, a fast tempo,
etc...

If I read you correctly, you
> found it too complex, right? Perhaps so. I'd love to do another, more
> naked version of the same idea.
>

Complex as in pointillism perhaps.

> (It helps to hear all the angles from people.)
>
> I set myself the task of limiting the range in each hand ('part') to a
> fifth---typical of a lot of beginning piano music. As I said on MMM,
> making music (i.e. high-quality on the level of Bartok's 'Mikrokosmos'
> , etc.) for 'children' is very hard, and sounding natural at it is a
> state of grace. If you have objective advice on how to do this better,
> I'd love to hear it!
>

Simple but delicious microtonal harmonies with maximum 3 voices, that's the
key.

> Best,
> Aaron.
>
> >
> >

Oz.

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Ozan Yarman" <ozanyarman@...> wrote:

Aaron:
> > If you have objective advice on how to do this better,
> > I'd love to hear it!
> >
>
Ozan:
> Simple but delicious microtonal harmonies with maximum 3 voices,
that's the
> key.

I agree--I never do anything (this included) without trying to make
it 'delicious'. Obviously, this boils down to what spices one likes.
For instance, my wife and others, love shrimp. I can't imagine
eating the stuff, makes me want to vomit thinking about it--I think
I might even be allergic to shrimp.

I can see how tempo might affect your reaction (you mentioned it
being too fast). I struggled a bit with the right tempo...maybe it's
true that in general, JI (or nanotempered) stuff needs more time
to 'sing'.

Anyway, apparently others liked this, so where does that leave us?

-A.

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Aaron Krister Johnson" <aaron@...>
wrote:

>
> Anyway, apparently others liked this, so where does that leave us?
>
> -A.

Don't forget the fable of the old man, the boy, and donkey. :-)

I like the piece and think the tempo is just right, a little slow if
anything. And I think you achieved your goal very well.

Now I'm going to get laughed at for saying this but what the hell:
I think the piece is out of tune. It's out of tune maybe because
it's mispelled. The actual tonic is the fifth note from the start
(I keep wanting to hear the fourth note lower than it
is because it's Te), ie the peice starts on Fa, and maybe was tuned
as if that were the tonic?

In this music, fundamentally tetrachordal in origin, I think you
might want to keep Fa,So and Do (1st,2nd,5th notes) immutable
and let the other tones flex according to what sounds good to
you, without regard for chord roots or other such silliness.
It's a really nice piece, nice job, I'd just like to hear it tuned
differently.

-Cameron Bobro

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Cameron Bobro" <misterbobro@...> wrote:

> Now I'm going to get laughed at for saying this but what the hell:
> I think the piece is out of tune. It's out of tune maybe because
> it's mispelled. The actual tonic is the fifth note from the start
> (I keep wanting to hear the fourth note lower than it
> is because it's Te), ie the peice starts on Fa, and maybe was tuned
> as if that were the tonic?

nope...you are hearing this incorrectly! I end the piece on a half
cadence is all! (typical in some folk and folk-inspired music like
Bartok)

-A.

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Aaron Krister Johnson" <aaron@...>
wrote:
>
> --- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Cameron Bobro" <misterbobro@>
wrote:
>
> > Now I'm going to get laughed at for saying this but what the
hell:
> > I think the piece is out of tune. It's out of tune maybe because
> > it's mispelled. The actual tonic is the fifth note from the
start
> > (I keep wanting to hear the fourth note lower than it
> > is because it's Te), ie the peice starts on Fa, and maybe was
tuned
> > as if that were the tonic?
>
> nope...you are hearing this incorrectly! I end the piece on a half
> cadence is all! (typical in some folk and folk-inspired music like
> Bartok)
>
> -A.

I knew you'd say that- and that's why the peice is out of tune.
Having listened to Balkan music from my earliest memory, and
singing the drone in a Balkan folk group... try it yourself: sustain
the first note throughout the piece and listen to the music against
it. Then sustain the fifth note throughout the piece. Really, try
retuning as if your "sol" is the do, and hear how it works.

Western triadic theory falls apart with Balkan music, the old
Bulgarian text I've used for years is far better.

-Cameron Bobro