AW.: Re: RE: terms of endearment

In einer Nachricht vom 12/28/99 3:55:02 PM (MEZ) Mitteleurop�ische Zeit
schreibt Afmmjr@aol.com:

<< Harvard? Salzman? Cope?
These people did not work with the material, at least to the extent of many
on this present list. And that is understandable. >>

I don't know about Salzman's work with microtones, but David Cope certainly
made a thorough study of intonation during one phase of his life, composing
quite a bit in a just cross set of 8:9:10:11:12:13:14:15 multiplied by
itself, using both computer-generated sounds and a garage full of homemade
instruments. And, although I disagree with much of what is found in the
Harvard Dictionary of Music, I believe that Ezra Sims was involved in writing
the book, and he certainly has experience with the topic in question.

I will quote from my 1985 paper "Microtonality and its Application to
Microtonality" (P. 54)

"Microtonality relates to all of music through its common denominator of
pitch. There is no good reason to use a cultural model as a measure for all
tone systems. Accepting this, there can only be a vacuum, a tabula rasa to
be filled in by pitch. Noise, as a complex composite of pitch frequencies,
though culturally considered as offensive and dissonant, is used
compositionally and can conceivably be studied via spectral analysis.

"In actuality, the phenomenon of speech involves continuous fluctuations
of pitch. Though it is more apparent in languages like Chinese or Thai, it
is an imporant and vital key to revealing the meaning of an English speaker
when the words themselves are not enough. Inflection in English can totally
refute the literal meaning of the words spoken. In Arabic, questions can be
formed precisely by raising the pitch at the end of what otherwise might be a
declarative sentence.

"Issues of tuning in a generic sense are integral to a variety of other
spheres. The relationship of heavenly bodies to each other as they orbit
about each other is said to be possible only because of their precise tuning.
If that "tuning" were to be altered, there would be collisions.

"From a social point of view, the understanding of diverse tunings brings
us closer to "foreign" aesthetics. The belief that "music is an
international language" pales before the many musics difficult to comprehend.
Understanding a vocabulary in all its nuances is a necessary step to
understanding the language of a people. This also follows for the tonal
vocabulary of a music. If nations could understand and appreciate each other
culturally, a much needed degree of respect and trust could be developed
between them.

"From the unique world perspective of human endeavors in tuning, all music
contains subsets of the infinitude of pitch possibility. So, all music
contains microtones in theis sense, and so, all music can be considered
"microtonal" and within the realm of 'microtonality.'"

Johnny Reinhard
AFMM

Afmmjr@aol.com wrote:

> I will quote from my 1985 paper "Microtonality and its Application to
> Microtonality" (P. 54)

I thought it was called Phenomenology and its Application to
Microtonality.

You folks have to look at what you wrote before you
click on that send button. Sheesh.

--
* D a v i d B e a r d s l e y
* xouoxno@virtulink.com
*
* 49/32 R a d i o "all microtonal, all the time"
* M E L A v i r t u a l d r e a m house monitor
*
* http://www.virtulink.com/immp/lookhere.htm

Thanks David for the correction. It is Phenomenology and Its Application to
Microtonality, unpublished. johnny