source file: mills2.txt Date: Sun, 1 Jun 1997 19:26:37 +0200 Subject: Re: Tibetan tuning From: Daniel Wolf I assume that the cent values in the program represent the following ratios: C = 0 = 1/1 C# = -29 = 25/24 D = +4 = 9/8 D# = +16 = 6/5 E = -14 = 5/4 F = -2 = 4/3 F# = -10 = 45/32 G = +2 = 3/2 G# = +14 = 8/5 A = -16 = 5/3 A# = +18 = 9/5 B = -12 = 15/8 Perhaps someone initiated into the deeper mysteries of the Kurzweil concern could give a source (recording or scholarly) for this in Tibetan music. Assuming that c is the ''tonic'', the 25/24 is certainly surprising unless it's used as the fifth harmonic of a. My experience of Tibetan music has been that of an intonationally flexible affair, with the instruments often using very different tunings (with beats between instruments common) and the voices adjusting their choice of melodic pitches to instrumental reference pitches and perhaps to pitches found in harmonic spectra (i.e. sometimes using a lower neighbor tone around an 8/7 below the reciting tone). The best scholarship, by the way, on Tibetan music, is that of Ter Ellingson. (In fact, all previous work in the field is superseded). Tuning, however, does not feature in Ellingson's work. Received: from ns.ezh.nl [137.174.112.59] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Sun, 1 Jun 1997 19:48 +0200 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA06036; Sun, 1 Jun 1997 19:48:29 +0200 Date: Sun, 1 Jun 1997 19:48:29 +0200 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA06081 Received: (qmail 17641 invoked from network); 1 Jun 1997 17:48:21 -0000 Received: from localhost (HELO ella.mills.edu) (127.0.0.1) by localhost with SMTP; 1 Jun 1997 17:48:21 -0000 Message-Id: Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu