8Th Octave Overtone Tuning
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New Masters at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
- NEW MASTERSAT THE BROOKLYNACADEMY OF MUSIC News Contact: Ellen Lampert/212.636.4123 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 13, 1982 Contacts: Ellen Lampert Susan Spier (212) 636-4123 Glenn Branca will present the world premiere of his SYMPHONY NO. 3 (Gloria) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, January 13-16 as part of BAM's NEXT WAVE series. Performances in the Helen Owen Carey Playhouse will be Thursday through Saturday evenings (January 13-15) at 8:00pm and Sunday (January 16) at 2:00pm. SYMPHONY NO. 3 (Gloria) will continue Branca's use of home-made instruments, as exhibited in the electric stringed instruments he used in SYMPHONY No. 2 at St. Mark's Church last year. For SYMPHONY NO. 3, Branca has designed keyboard instruments which have been built by David Quinlan, a professional builder of harpsichords and folk instruments. The sixteen musicians for SYMPHONY No. 3 include Branca himself plus Jeffrey Glenn, Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore, Barbara Ess, David Quinlan, Craig Bromberg, and Stephen Wischerth on drums. Branca, tagged an "art-rocker" for his new music/rock experimentation, formed an experimental rock quintet with Jeffrey Lohn in 1977, called the Theoretical Girls. His next group was called The Static, a guitar-based trio, with which he moved from rock clubs to performances in alternative art spaces such as The Performing Garage. Known for the theatricality of his performances, Branca has toured throughout the U.S. and Eu rope with The Glenn Branca Group, a,,,J li.::!LO,dcd l'NO d;i.:.urns ·for 9;-j f<.eccrds, 'Lesson No. -
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. -
Shepard, 1982
Psychological Review VOLUME 89 NUMBER 4 JULY 1 9 8 2 Geometrical Approximations to the Structure of Musical Pitch Roger N. Shepard Stanford University ' Rectilinear scales of pitch can account for the similarity of tones close together in frequency but not for the heightened relations at special intervals, such as the octave or perfect fifth, that arise when the tones are interpreted musically. In- creasingly adequate a c c o u n t s of musical pitch are provided by increasingly gen- eralized, geometrically regular helical structures: a simple helix, a double helix, and a double helix wound around a torus in four dimensions or around a higher order helical cylinder in five dimensions. A two-dimensional "melodic map" o f these double-helical structures provides for optimally compact representations of musical scales and melodies. A two-dimensional "harmonic map," obtained by an affine transformation of the melodic map, provides for optimally compact representations of chords and harmonic relations; moreover, it is isomorphic to the toroidal structure that Krumhansl and Kessler (1982) show to represent the • psychological relations among musical keys. A piece of music, just as any other acous- the musical experience. Because the ear is tic stimulus, can be physically described in responsive to frequencies up to 20 kHz or terms of two time-varying pressure waves, more, at a sampling rate of two pressure one incident at each ear. This level of anal- values per cycle per ear, the physical spec- ysis has, however, little correspondence to ification of a half-hour symphony requires well in excess of a hundred million numbers. -
2012 02 20 Programme Booklet FIN
COMPOSITION - EXPERIMENT - TRADITION: An experimental tradition. A compositional experiment. A traditional composition. An experimental composition. A traditional experiment. A compositional tradition. Orpheus Research Centre in Music [ORCiM] 22-23 February 2012, Orpheus Institute, Ghent Belgium The fourth International ORCiM Seminar organised at the Orpheus Institute offers an opportunity for an international group of contributors to explore specific aspects of ORCiM's research focus: Artistic Experimentation in Music. The theme of the conference is: Composition – Experiment – Tradition. This two-day international seminar aims at exploring the complex role of experimentation in the context of compositional practice and the artistic possibilities that its different approaches yield for practitioners and audiences. How these practices inform, or are informed by, historical, cultural, material and geographical contexts will be a recurring theme of this seminar. The seminar is particularly directed at composers and music practitioners working in areas of research linked to artistic experimentation. Organising Committee ORCiM Seminar 2012: William Brooks (U.K.), Kathleen Coessens (Belgium), Stefan Östersjö (Sweden), Juan Parra (Chile/Belgium) Orpheus Research Centre in Music [ORCiM] The Orpheus Research Centre in Music is based at the Orpheus Institute in Ghent, Belgium. ORCiM's mission is to produce and promote the highest quality research into music, and in particular into the processes of music- making and our understanding of them. ORCiM -
Meet Me by the Pleroma
MEET ME BY THE PLEROMA Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Electronic Music and Recording Media Mills College, May, 2009 By Charles Johnson Approved by: _______________________ Chris Brown Director of Thesis ________________________ Fred Frith Head, Music Department _________________________ Sandra C. Greer Provost and Dean of the Faculty Reading Committee: _______________________ James Fei _______________________ Pauline Oliveros Contents: 1. Introduction………………………………………………………….…..6 2. Development Process……………………………………………………9 2.1 Preliminary Work……..…………………….……………………….9 2.2 Materials…………..…………………….…………………….……15 2.3 The Form..…………………….……………………...……………..20 3. Context Within My Work………….……………………...……………21 4. Context Within My Interests…………………………………………....23 4.1 Musical Interests………………………..…………………………..23 4.2 The Sonic Other……….………………………..…………………..25 4.3 Philosophical, Social, Political…………………..………………….27 4.4 About the Title……….………………………..…………………….32 5. Concept…….………………………..…………………….…………….36 5.1 Why Difference Tones?………………….………………….………36 5.2 Considerations for the Performers……….………………….………37 5.3 Considerations for the Audience……….………………….………..38 6. Signal Flow Performance……….………………………….……………41 6.1 Staging……………………..…………………….…………………..41 6.2 Comments on Performance.…………………….…………………...42 6.3 Audience Reaction.………..…………………….…………………..43 7. Appendix A. Score to Meet me by the pleroma …………………………47 8. Appendix B. Technical details…………………………………………...50 9. Bibliography……………………………………………………………..54 -
The Ten String Quartets of Ben Johnston, Written Between 1951 and 1995, Constitute No Less Than an Attempt to Revolutionize the Medium
The ten string quartets of Ben Johnston, written between 1951 and 1995, constitute no less than an attempt to revolutionize the medium. Of them, only the First Quartet limits itself to conventional tuning. The others, climaxing in the astonishing Seventh Quartet of 1984, add in further microtones from the harmonic series to the point that the music seems to float in a free pitch space, unmoored from the grid of the common twelve-pitch scale. In a way, this is a return to an older conception of string quartet practice, since players used to (and often still do) intuitively adjust their tuning for maximum sonority while listening to each other’s intonation. But Johnston has extended this practice in two dimensions: Rather than leave intonation to the performer’s ear and intuition, he has developed his own way to specify it in notation; and he has moved beyond the intervals of normal musical practice to incorporate increasingly fine distinctions, up to the 11th, 13th, and even 31st partials in the harmonic series. This recording by the indomitable Kepler Quartet completes the series of Johnston’s quartets, finally all recorded at last for the first time. Volume One presented Quartets 2, 3, 4, and 9; Volume Two 1, 5, and 10; and here we have Nos. 6, 7, and 8, plus a small piece for narrator and quartet titled Quietness. As Timothy Ernest Johnson has documented in his exhaustive dissertation on Johnston’s Seventh Quartet, Johnston’s string quartets explore extended tunings in three phases.1 Skipping over the more conventional (though serialist) First Quartet, the Second and Third expand the pitch spectrum merely by adding in so-called five-limit intervals (thirds, fourths, and fifths) perfectly in tune (which means unlike the imperfect, compromised way we tune them on the modern piano). -
Andrián Pertout
Andrián Pertout Three Microtonal Compositions: The Utilization of Tuning Systems in Modern Composition Volume 1 Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Produced on acid-free paper Faculty of Music The University of Melbourne March, 2007 Abstract Three Microtonal Compositions: The Utilization of Tuning Systems in Modern Composition encompasses the work undertaken by Lou Harrison (widely regarded as one of America’s most influential and original composers) with regards to just intonation, and tuning and scale systems from around the globe – also taking into account the influential work of Alain Daniélou (Introduction to the Study of Musical Scales), Harry Partch (Genesis of a Music), and Ben Johnston (Scalar Order as a Compositional Resource). The essence of the project being to reveal the compositional applications of a selection of Persian, Indonesian, and Japanese musical scales utilized in three very distinct systems: theory versus performance practice and the ‘Scale of Fifths’, or cyclic division of the octave; the equally-tempered division of the octave; and the ‘Scale of Proportions’, or harmonic division of the octave championed by Harrison, among others – outlining their theoretical and aesthetic rationale, as well as their historical foundations. The project begins with the creation of three new microtonal works tailored to address some of the compositional issues of each system, and ending with an articulated exposition; obtained via the investigation of written sources, disclosure -
Supplement to the Executive Order of the Director of Emergency Services Declaring the Existence of a Local Emergency
DocuSign Envelope ID: 182BFB2E-2690-4482-B76A-CFCA7DB5494C TWENTY-NINTH SUPPLEMENT TO THE EXECUTIVE ORDER OF THE DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY SERVICES DECLARING THE EXISTENCE OF A LOCAL EMERGENCY WHEREAS international, national, state, and local health and governmental authorities are responding to an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus named “SARS-CoV-2,” and the disease it causes has been named “coronavirus disease 2019,” abbreviated COVID-19, (“COVID-19”); and WHEREAS, on March 4, 2020, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and Department of Public Health declared a local emergency and local public health emergency to aid the regional healthcare and governmental community in responding to COVID-19; and WHEREAS, on March 4, 2020, the Governor of the State of California declared a state of emergency to make additional resources available, formalize emergency actions already underway across multiple state agencies and departments, and help the State prepare for broader spread of COVID-19; and WHEREAS, on March 12, 2020, in response to social distancing guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the California Department of Public Health, and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the City of Santa Monica (“the City”) cancelled all social gatherings (events, activities, programs, and gatherings) in City facilities that were scheduled to occur through permit or license between March 12, 2020, and March 31, 2020, absent a persuasive showing by the permittee or licensee that the -
Ninth, Eleventh and Thirteenth Chords Ninth, Eleventh and Thirteen Chords Sometimes Referred to As Chords with 'Extensions', I.E
Ninth, Eleventh and Thirteenth chords Ninth, Eleventh and Thirteen chords sometimes referred to as chords with 'extensions', i.e. extending the seventh chord to include tones that are stacking the interval of a third above the basic chord tones. These chords with upper extensions occur mostly on the V chord. The ninth chord is sometimes viewed as superimposing the vii7 chord on top of the V7 chord. The combination of the two chord creates a ninth chord. In major keys the ninth of the dominant ninth chord is a whole step above the root (plus octaves) w w w w w & c w w w C major: V7 vii7 V9 G7 Bm7b5 G9 ? c ∑ ∑ ∑ In the minor keys the ninth of the dominant ninth chord is a half step above the root (plus octaves). In chord symbols it is referred to as a b9, i.e. E7b9. The 'flat' terminology is use to indicate that the ninth is lowered compared to the major key version of the dominant ninth chord. Note that in many keys, the ninth is not literally a flatted note but might be a natural. 4 w w w & #w #w #w A minor: V7 vii7 V9 E7 G#dim7 E7b9 ? ∑ ∑ ∑ The dominant ninth usually resolves to I and the ninth often resolves down in parallel motion with the seventh of the chord. 7 ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ & ˙ ˙ #˙ ˙ C major: V9 I A minor: V9 i G9 C E7b9 Am ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ? ˙ ˙ The dominant ninth chord is often used in a II-V-I chord progression where the II chord˙ and the I chord are both seventh chords and the V chord is a incomplete ninth with the fifth omitted. -
A Comparison of Viola Strings with Harmonic Frequency Analysis
University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Student Research, Creative Activity, and Performance - School of Music Music, School of 5-2011 A Comparison of Viola Strings with Harmonic Frequency Analysis Jonathan Paul Crosmer University of Nebraska-Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/musicstudent Part of the Music Commons Crosmer, Jonathan Paul, "A Comparison of Viola Strings with Harmonic Frequency Analysis" (2011). Student Research, Creative Activity, and Performance - School of Music. 33. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/musicstudent/33 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Music, School of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Research, Creative Activity, and Performance - School of Music by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. A COMPARISON OF VIOLA STRINGS WITH HARMONIC FREQUENCY ANALYSIS by Jonathan P. Crosmer A DOCTORAL DOCUMENT Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Major: Music Under the Supervision of Professor Clark E. Potter Lincoln, Nebraska May, 2011 A COMPARISON OF VIOLA STRINGS WITH HARMONIC FREQUENCY ANALYSIS Jonathan P. Crosmer, D.M.A. University of Nebraska, 2011 Adviser: Clark E. Potter Many brands of viola strings are available today. Different materials used result in varying timbres. This study compares 12 popular brands of strings. Each set of strings was tested and recorded on four violas. We allowed two weeks after installation for each string set to settle, and we were careful to control as many factors as possible in the recording process. -
An Examination of Minimalist Tendencies in Two Early Works by Terry Riley Ann Glazer Niren Indiana University Southeast First I
An Examination of Minimalist Tendencies in Two Early Works by Terry Riley Ann Glazer Niren Indiana University Southeast First International Conference on Music and Minimalism University of Wales, Bangor Friday, August 31, 2007 Minimalism is perhaps one of the most misunderstood musical movements of the latter half of the twentieth century. Even among musicians, there is considerable disagreement as to the meaning of the term “minimalism” and which pieces should be categorized under this broad heading.1 Furthermore, minimalism is often referenced using negative terminology such as “trance music” or “stuck-needle music.” Yet, its impact cannot be overstated, influencing both composers of art and rock music. Within the original group of minimalists, consisting of La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass2, the latter two have received considerable attention and many of their works are widely known, even to non-musicians. However, Terry Riley is one of the most innovative members of this auspicious group, and yet, he has not always received the appropriate recognition that he deserves. Most musicians familiar with twentieth century music realize that he is the composer of In C, a work widely considered to be the piece that actually launched the minimalist movement. But is it really his first minimalist work? Two pieces that Riley wrote early in his career as a graduate student at Berkeley warrant closer attention. Riley composed his String Quartet in 1960 and the String Trio the following year. These two works are virtually unknown today, but they exhibit some interesting minimalist tendencies and indeed foreshadow some of Riley’s later developments.