source file: mills2.txt Date: Mon, 23 Dec 1996 16:46:01 -0800 Subject: Re: Systematizing Tuning Again From: Johnny Reinhard I certainly agree with Matt Nathan, and Varese, and many others that limiting oneself to a finite set of pitches is not necessarily good for the music. The full sonic spectrum is the tabula rasa upon which to draw sensible intervals. When Harry Partch proclaimed 43-notes to his 2/1 it was largely to acknowledge the inability of humans to grasp the infinite. Partch used numerous interval outside of the 43-note gamut in his scores. Perhaps microtonal composers are like children in exploring the sonic terain. Just as a mother warns a child against turning the corner during play time, lovingly providing safety limits, we composers have superegos limiting our explorations into the expanse. This appears unnecessary, except in a personal pedagogical sense. Now is the time for all microtonalists to learn the "essential" relationships of a variety of pitch combinations for the betterment of musical vocabulary, and gradually improving musical communication. This is not meant to be a chastisement to a composer plumbing the depths of a particular tuning. However it is a line in the sand that ghettoizing notes is no longer necessary, or desireable. Johnny Reinhard Director American Festival of Microtonal Music 318 East 70th Street, Suite 5FW New York, New York 10021 USA (212)517-3550/fax (212) 517-5495 reinhard@ios.com Received: from ns.ezh.nl [137.174.112.59] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Tue, 24 Dec 1996 14:52 +0100 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA02327; Tue, 24 Dec 1996 14:55:06 +0100 Received: from eartha.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA02155 Received: from by eartha.mills.edu via SMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/930416.SGI) for id FAA24485; Tue, 24 Dec 1996 05:55:00 -0800 Date: Tue, 24 Dec 1996 05:55:00 -0800 Message-Id: <199612241353.VAA15028@hk.super.net> Errors-To: madole@ella.mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu