source file: mills3.txt Date: Sat, 13 Dec 1997 02:31:50 +0100 Subject: Re: small intervals From: "Andrew L. Kaye" You (Gregg Gibson) say that intervals narrower than 55-60 cents cannot be meaningfully used in a melodic sense. This may be true, and I would like to see this theory tested (has such a test been conducted?). Johnny Reinhard and others bring our attention to the importance of even smaller intervals used by musicians from many cultures in ornamentation. Perhaps these smaller intervals, whatever they may be, are perceived as part of the primary sound qualities of the note itself, for example, as vibrato or tremulo, rather than as part of melodic procedure. In South Asian art music, of course, singers and instrumentalists often slide between the principal notes of a raga, and doing this correctly takes years of study. The same is true of the blues and so many local styles around the world. I once heard a Russian singer performing "Amazing Grace" and many of the notes she used were off by a meaningful micro-degree, and the results were...well, unusual to say the least. I am curious as to how Gregg or others on this list would treat the intermediate tonal areas these slides and other smaller than 50-cent micro-units represent, from the point of view of tuning and temperament. SMTPOriginator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu From: Gregg Gibson Subject: Worthy & Worthless PostedDate: 13-12-97 02:53:12 SendTo: CN=coul1358/OU=AT/O=EZH ReplyTo: tuning@eartha.mills.edu $MessageStorage: 0 $UpdatedBy: CN=notesrv2/OU=Server/O=EZH,CN=coul1358/OU=AT/O=EZH,CN=Manuel op de Coul/OU=AT/O=EZH RouteServers: CN=notesrv2/OU=Server/O=EZH,CN=notesrv1/OU=Server/O=EZH RouteTimes: 13-12-97 02:51:19-13-12-97 02:51:20,13-12-97 02:51:03-13-12-97 02:51:03 DeliveredDate: 13-12-97 02:51:03 Categories: $Revisions: Received: from ns.ezh.nl ([137.174.112.59]) by notesrv2.ezh.nl (Lotus SMTP MTA SMTP v4.6 (462.2 9-3-1997)) with SMTP id C125656C.000A2D56; Sat, 13 Dec 1997 02:53:05 +0100 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA14340; Sat, 13 Dec 1997 02:53:12 +0100 Date: Sat, 13 Dec 1997 02:53:12 +0100 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA14332 Received: (qmail 6749 invoked from network); 12 Dec 1997 17:53:08 -0800 Received: from localhost (HELO ella.mills.edu) (127.0.0.1) by localhost with SMTP; 12 Dec 1997 17:53:08 -0800 Message-Id: <34924CC6.3810@ww-interlink.net> Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu