TUNING the EAR Exploring Conditions and Conceptions of Hearing
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
The 17-Tone Puzzle — and the Neo-Medieval Key That Unlocks It
The 17-tone Puzzle — And the Neo-medieval Key That Unlocks It by George Secor A Grave Misunderstanding The 17 division of the octave has to be one of the most misunderstood alternative tuning systems available to the microtonal experimenter. In comparison with divisions such as 19, 22, and 31, it has two major advantages: not only are its fifths better in tune, but it is also more manageable, considering its very reasonable number of tones per octave. A third advantage becomes apparent immediately upon hearing diatonic melodies played in it, one note at a time: 17 is wonderful for melody, outshining both the twelve-tone equal temperament (12-ET) and the Pythagorean tuning in this respect. The most serious problem becomes apparent when we discover that diatonic harmony in this system sounds highly dissonant, considerably more so than is the case with either 12-ET or the Pythagorean tuning, on which we were hoping to improve. Without any further thought, most experimenters thus consign the 17-tone system to the discard pile, confident in the knowledge that there are, after all, much better alternatives available. My own thinking about 17 started in exactly this way. In 1976, having been a microtonal experimenter for thirteen years, I went on record, dismissing 17-ET in only a couple of sentences: The 17-tone equal temperament is of questionable harmonic utility. If you try it, I doubt you’ll stay with it for long.1 Since that time I have become aware of some things which have caused me to change my opinion completely. -
The Science of String Instruments
The Science of String Instruments Thomas D. Rossing Editor The Science of String Instruments Editor Thomas D. Rossing Stanford University Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) Stanford, CA 94302-8180, USA [email protected] ISBN 978-1-4419-7109-8 e-ISBN 978-1-4419-7110-4 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-7110-4 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer ScienceþBusiness Media (www.springer.com) Contents 1 Introduction............................................................... 1 Thomas D. Rossing 2 Plucked Strings ........................................................... 11 Thomas D. Rossing 3 Guitars and Lutes ........................................................ 19 Thomas D. Rossing and Graham Caldersmith 4 Portuguese Guitar ........................................................ 47 Octavio Inacio 5 Banjo ...................................................................... 59 James Rae 6 Mandolin Family Instruments........................................... 77 David J. Cohen and Thomas D. Rossing 7 Psalteries and Zithers .................................................... 99 Andres Peekna and Thomas D. -
3 Manual Microtonal Organ Ruben Sverre Gjertsen 2013
3 Manual Microtonal Organ http://www.bek.no/~ruben/Research/Downloads/software.html Ruben Sverre Gjertsen 2013 An interface to existing software A motivation for creating this instrument has been an interest for gaining experience with a large range of intonation systems. This software instrument is built with Max 61, as an interface to the Fluidsynth object2. Fluidsynth offers possibilities for retuning soundfont banks (Sf2 format) to 12-tone or full-register tunings. Max 6 introduced the dictionary format, which has been useful for creating a tuning database in text format, as well as storing presets. This tuning database can naturally be expanded by users, if tunings are written in the syntax read by this instrument. The freely available Jeux organ soundfont3 has been used as a default soundfont, while any instrument in the sf2 format can be loaded. The organ interface The organ window 3 MIDI Keyboards This instrument contains 3 separate fluidsynth modules, named Manual 1-3. 3 keysliders can be played staccato by the mouse for testing, while the most musically sufficient option is performing from connected MIDI keyboards. Available inputs will be automatically recognized and can be selected from the menus. To keep some of the manuals silent, select the bottom alternative "to 2ManualMicroORGANircamSpat 1", which will not receive MIDI signal, unless another program (for instance Sibelius) is sending them. A separate menu can be used to select a foot trigger. The red toggle must be pressed for this to be active. This has been tested with Behringer FCB1010 triggers. Other devices could possibly require adjustments to the patch. -
Consonance and Dissonance in Visual Music Bill Alves Harvey Mudd College
Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont All HMC Faculty Publications and Research HMC Faculty Scholarship 8-1-2012 Consonance and Dissonance in Visual Music Bill Alves Harvey Mudd College Recommended Citation Bill Alves (2012). Consonance and Dissonance in Visual Music. Organised Sound, 17, pp 114-119 doi:10.1017/ S1355771812000039 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the HMC Faculty Scholarship at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in All HMC Faculty Publications and Research by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Organised Sound http://journals.cambridge.org/OSO Additional services for Organised Sound: Email alerts: Click here Subscriptions: Click here Commercial reprints: Click here Terms of use : Click here Consonance and Dissonance in Visual Music Bill Alves Organised Sound / Volume 17 / Issue 02 / August 2012, pp 114 - 119 DOI: 10.1017/S1355771812000039, Published online: 19 July 2012 Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S1355771812000039 How to cite this article: Bill Alves (2012). Consonance and Dissonance in Visual Music. Organised Sound, 17, pp 114-119 doi:10.1017/ S1355771812000039 Request Permissions : Click here Downloaded from http://journals.cambridge.org/OSO, IP address: 134.173.130.244 on 24 Jul 2014 Consonance and Dissonance in Visual Music BILL ALVES Harvey Mudd College, The Claremont Colleges, 301 Platt Blvd, Claremont CA 91711 USA E-mail: [email protected] The concepts of consonance and dissonance broadly Plato found the harmony of the world in the Pythag- understood can provide structural models for creators of orean whole numbers and their ratios, abstract ideals visual music. -
The Unexpected Number Theory and Algebra of Musical Tuning Systems Or, Several Ways to Compute the Numbers 5,7,12,19,22,31,41,53, and 72
The Unexpected Number Theory and Algebra of Musical Tuning Systems or, Several Ways to Compute the Numbers 5,7,12,19,22,31,41,53, and 72 Matthew Hawthorn \Music is the pleasure the human soul experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting." -Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716) \All musicians are subconsciously mathematicians." -Thelonius Monk (1917-1982) 1 Physics In order to have music, we must have sound. In order to have sound, we must have something vibrating. Wherever there is something virbrating, there is the wave equation, be it in 1, 2, or more dimensions. The solutions to the wave equation for any given object (string, reed, metal bar, drumhead, vocal cords, etc.) with given boundary conditions can be expressed as a superposition of discrete partials, modes of vibration of which there are generally infinitely many, each with a characteristic frequency. The partials and their frequencies can be found as eigenvectors, resp. eigenvalues of the Laplace operator acting on the space of displacement functions on the object. Taken together, these frequen- cies comprise the spectrum of the object, and their relative intensities determine what in musical terms we call timbre. Something very nice occurs when our object is roughly one-dimensional (e.g. a string): the partial frequencies become harmonic. This is where, aptly, the better part of harmony traditionally takes place. For a spectrum to be harmonic means that it is comprised of a fundamental frequency, say f, and all whole number multiples of that frequency: f; 2f; 3f; 4f; : : : It is here also that number theory slips in the back door. -
Tuning and Intervals
CHAPTER 4 Tuning and Intervals Sitting on the riverbank, Pan noticed the bed of reeds was swaying in the wind, making a mournful moaning sound, for the wind had broken the tops of some of the reeds. Pulling the reeds up, Pan cut them into pieces and bound them together to create a musical instrument, which he named “Syrinx”, in memory of his lost love Ovid (Roman Poet; 43 BC - AD 18/19) Have you ever watched someone tune a guitar? Or maybe even a piano? The lengths of the strings have to be adjusted by hand to exactly the right sound,bymakingthestringstighteror looser. Bue how does the tuner know which sound is the right one? This question has been asked throughout history and different cultures at different times have found different answers. Many cultures tune their instruments differently than we do. Listen for instance to the Indian instrument sarod in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hobK_8bIDvk.Also,2000yearsago,theGreekwere using different tuning ideas than we do today. Of course the Greek did not have guitars or pianos at that time, but they were still thinking about tuning for theinstrumentstheyhadandaboutthe structure of music in general. The pan flute,oneoftheoldestmusicalinstrumentsintheworld, was used by the ancient Greeks and is still being played today.Itconsistsofseveralpipesofbamboo of increasing lengths. The name is a reference to the Greek godPanwhoisshownplayingtheflute in Figure 1. Figure 1. Pan playing the pan flute. For the following investigations you need to make your own “pan flute” out of straws. Straws for bubble tea1,workbetterthanregularstrawssincetheyhaveawiderdiameter. You need to plug the bottom with a finger to get a clear pitch. -
A Study of Microtones in Pop Music
University of Huddersfield Repository Chadwin, Daniel James Applying microtonality to pop songwriting: A study of microtones in pop music Original Citation Chadwin, Daniel James (2019) Applying microtonality to pop songwriting: A study of microtones in pop music. Masters thesis, University of Huddersfield. This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/34977/ The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of the University, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the items on this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners. Users may access full items free of charge; copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided: • The authors, title and full bibliographic details is credited in any copy; • A hyperlink and/or URL is included for the original metadata page; and • The content is not changed in any way. For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/ Applying microtonality to pop songwriting A study of microtones in pop music Daniel James Chadwin Student number: 1568815 A thesis submitted to the University of Huddersfield in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts University of Huddersfield May 2019 1 Abstract While temperament and expanded tunings have not been widely adopted by pop and rock musicians historically speaking, there has recently been an increased interest in microtones from modern artists and in online discussion. -
Mto.95.1.4.Cuciurean
Volume 1, Number 4, July 1995 Copyright © 1995 Society for Music Theory John D. Cuciurean KEYWORDS: scale, interval, equal temperament, mean-tone temperament, Pythagorean tuning, group theory, diatonic scale, music cognition ABSTRACT: In Mathematical Models of Musical Scales, Mark Lindley and Ronald Turner-Smith attempt to model scales by rejecting traditional Pythagorean ideas and applying modern algebraic techniques of group theory. In a recent MTO collaboration, the same authors summarize their work with less emphasis on the mathematical apparatus. This review complements that article, discussing sections of the book the article ignores and examining unique aspects of their models. [1] From the earliest known music-theoretical writings of the ancient Greeks, mathematics has played a crucial role in the development of our understanding of the mechanics of music. Mathematics not only proves useful as a tool for defining the physical characteristics of sound, but abstractly underlies many of the current methods of analysis. Following Pythagorean models, theorists from the middle ages to the present day who are concerned with intonation and tuning use proportions and ratios as the primary language in their music-theoretic discourse. However, few theorists in dealing with scales have incorporated abstract algebraic concepts in as systematic a manner as the recent collaboration between music scholar Mark Lindley and mathematician Ronald Turner-Smith.(1) In their new treatise, Mathematical Models of Musical Scales: A New Approach, the authors “reject the ancient Pythagorean idea that music somehow &lsquois’ number, and . show how to design mathematical models for musical scales and systems according to some more modern principles” (7). -
Musical Tuning Systems As a Form of Expression
Musical Tuning Systems as a Form of Expression Project Team: Lewis Cook [email protected] Benjamin M’Sadoques [email protected] Project Advisor Professor Wilson Wong Department of Computer Science This report represents the work of WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review. For more information about the projects program at WPI, please see http://www.wpi.edu/academics/ugradstudies/project- learning.html Abstract Many cultures and time periods throughout history have used a myriad of different practices to tune their instruments, perform, and create music. However, most musicians in the western world will only experience 12-tone equal temperament a represented by the keys on a piano. We want musicians to recognize that choosing a tuning system is a form of musical expression. The goal of this project was to help musicians of any skill-level experience, perform, and create music involving tuning systems. We created software to allow musicians to experiment and implement alternative tuning systems into their own music. ii Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................... ii Table of Figures .................................................................................................................... vii 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ -
Invariance of Controller Fingerings Across a Continuum of Tunings
Invariance of Controller Fingerings across a Continuum of Tunings Andrew Milne∗∗, William Setharesyy, and James Plamondonzz May 26, 2007 Introduction On the standard piano-style keyboard, intervals and chords have different shapes in each key. For example, the geometric pattern of the major third C–E is different from the geometric pattern of the major third D–F]. Similarly, the major scale is fingered differently in each of the twelve keys (in this usage, fingerings are specified without regard to which digits of the hand press which keys). Other playing surfaces, such as the keyboards of [Bosanquet, 1877] and [Wicki, 1896], have the property that each interval, chord, and scale type have the same geometric shape in every key. Such keyboards are said to be transpositionally invariant [Keisler, 1988]. There are many possible ways to tune musical intervals and scales, and the introduction of computer and software synthesizers makes it possible to realize any sound in any tuning [Carlos, 1987]. Typically, however, keyboard controllers are designed to play in a single tuning, such as the familiar 12-tone equal temperament (12-TET) which divides the octave into twelve perceptually equal pieces. Is it possible to create a keyboard surface that is capable of supporting many possible tunings? Is it possible to do so in a way that analogous musical intervals are fingered the same throughout the various tunings, so that (for example) the 12-TET fifth is fingered the same as the Just fifth and as the 17-TET fifth? (Just tunings ∗∗Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] yyDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706 USA. -
Regular Mappings and Marvel Temperaments
Regular Mappings and Marvel Temperaments Graham Breed This is the annotated version of the slides for the presentation I gave at Beyond the Semitone in Aberdeen, October 2013. The annotations cover things I said, or should have said, or might have said if I’d had more time. 0.1 Motivation Goals of Regular Temperament Regular temperaments are systems that approximate just intonation using fewer notes. This assumes there’s something special about just intonation that you want to preserve, and if you don’t feel this, temperament won’t be useful to you. The ”regular” part means each just ratio is tuned in a consistent way, and more than one just ratio will typically approximate to the same tempered interval. The list below is roughly prioritized, and the tuning is the least important thing. There’s a trap in microtonal literature that you focus on the tuning, and people think it’s all about tuning, although the tuning is only a tool in the service of exploring new harmonies, or making just intonation scales more manageable. • New harmonic systems • Frugal scales • Notation • Generalized keyboards • Tuning Beyond Temperament These ideas come from the study of temperaments, but can still be useful if you don’t use temperament. This is why I talk about a ”regular mapping paradigm” rather than ”regular temperament theory”. 1 I added some citations for the academic audience, and also to avoid giving the impression that everything I was talking about was original to me. Christian Kaernbach, who gave the talk after mine, discussed the idea that musicians might not play the (simplistic) theoretically correct pitches, and that doesn’t mean they’re wrong. -
Invariant Fingering Over a Tuning Continuum
Open Research Online The Open University’s repository of research publications and other research outputs Isomorphic controllers and Dynamic Tuning: invariant fingering over a tuning continuum Journal Item How to cite: Milne, Andrew; Sethares, William and Plamondon, James (2007). Isomorphic controllers and Dynamic Tuning: invariant fingering over a tuning continuum. Computer Music Journal, 31(4) pp. 15–32. For guidance on citations see FAQs. c 2007 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Version: Version of Record Link(s) to article on publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1162/comj.2007.31.4.15 http://www.mitpressjournals.org/loi/comj Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. oro.open.ac.uk Andrew Milne,* William Sethares,** and James Isomorphic Controllers and Plamondon† *Department of Music Dynamic Tuning: Invariant University of Jyväskylä Finland Fingering over a Tuning [email protected] **Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Continuum University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI 53706 USA [email protected] †Thumtronics Inc. 6911 Thistle Hill Way Austin, TX 78754 USA [email protected] In the Western musical tradition, two pitches are all within the time-honored framework of tonality. generally considered the “same” if they have nearly Such novel musical effects are discussed briefly in equal fundamental frequencies. Likewise, two the section on dynamic tuning, but the bulk of this pitches are in the “same” pitch class if the frequency article deals with the mathematical and perceptual of one is a power-of-two multiple of the other.