source file: mills3.txt Date: Sat, 13 Dec 1997 08:35:43 +0100 Subject: Singing small intervals From: "Bob Lee" Gregg Gibson wrote: > I do however categorically deny that any singers whatever > (allowance made for the occasional alien with 31-tone equal > ears) can reliably reproduce intervals narrower than 55-60 > cents in melody. This quote brings to mind a track called "Curry and Quartertones" on the Mumtaz Mahal CD (Water Lily Acoustics WLA-CS-46-CD). In it, American bluesman Taj Mahal talks about similarities between V. M. Bhatt's Indian melodies and the blues. Taj demonstrates by singing a bluesey riff that contains a "quartertone". To my ear, it sounds like he is singing the 64/33 and resolving it to the octave, a distinct interval of about 53 cents. Bhatt responds by echoing the riff quite accurately on his instrument. Now, this interval does not sound alien or even unusual to me, and it's a distinct melody note. Anyone who listens to modern American pop music will hear singers doing this kind of thing in their melodic "grace notes" all the time. I have to believe there are better singers in the world than the folks I hear on the radio. There are certainly many with better accuracy than poor old Taj! -b0b- ----- quasar@wco.com (Bobby Lee) http://wco.com/~quasar/ SMTPOriginator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu From: gbreed@cix.compulink.co.uk (Graham Breed) Subject: Reply to Gregg Gibson (and not the only one!) PostedDate: 13-12-97 14:32:47 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 14:30:54-13-12-97 14:30:55,13-12-97 14:30:37-13-12-97 14:30:38 DeliveredDate: 13-12-97 14:30:38 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.004A391F; Sat, 13 Dec 1997 14:32:39 +0100 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA14467; Sat, 13 Dec 1997 14:32:47 +0100 Date: Sat, 13 Dec 1997 14:32:47 +0100 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA14462 Received: (qmail 3948 invoked from network); 13 Dec 1997 05:32:37 -0800 Received: from localhost (HELO ella.mills.edu) (127.0.0.1) by localhost with SMTP; 13 Dec 1997 05:32:37 -0800 Message-Id: Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu