source file: mills3.txt Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 00:59:35 +0100 Subject: Melodic Limina From: Gregg Gibson I wish to comment again (briefly) on the melodic limen as it affects the determination of temperament. Even if the melodic limen were to be set so low as 40-45 cents - which would absolutely astound me - this would still favor 19-tone equal, as the 31-tone equal (tuning degree 39 cents) would be still excluded from consideration. The 22-tone equal is worthless, for the reasons I have given on the list. 24-tone equal is a mere mirror of 12-tone equal, with no way to harmonically or melodically integrate its two parallel cycles of fifths. But as I have stated before, it is slightly easier to argue that the true melodic limen is 60-65 cents than 50-55 cents. In actual performance the hurry and excitement tend to reduce, not to increase the aural acuity of the audience and performer. The real debate is not between 19-tone advocates and those who advocate still more tones, but between 19-toners (enneadecaphonists) and 12-toners (dodecaphonists, pace the Schoenbergian alternate meaning). The 12-toners have so far had much the better of the argument - almost wholly by default, because 19-tone has been scarcely considered, and that due to the habits of musical instrument designers, not due to any more profound cause. Instead of attending to real issues, microtonalists have busied themselves with schemes for 31 or 50 tones in the octave (or other systems even wilder,) which only makes ordinary musicians smile at the lunacy of the professors. But one day 19-tone equal _will_ come into its own. In that time 12-tone equal will be viewed as we today consider Siamese 7-tone equal temperament - a curiosum of the past, and evidence that mankind _is_ capable of expressing himself musically - to a limited extent - with the most crippled, impoverished means. (Those whose hypocritical hypersensibility leads them to conclude from this last point that I am insulting the Siamese, I leave to their affected outrage, much good may it do them.) SMTPOriginator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu From: Gregg Gibson Subject: Judging Effect of Temperaments PostedDate: 17-12-97 01:18:06 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: 17-12-97 01:16:02-17-12-97 01:16:03,17-12-97 01:15:41-17-12-97 01:15:42 DeliveredDate: 17-12-97 01:15:42 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 C1256570.0001BAC5; Wed, 17 Dec 1997 01:17:53 +0100 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA17474; Wed, 17 Dec 1997 01:18:06 +0100 Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 01:18:06 +0100 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA17477 Received: (qmail 9701 invoked from network); 16 Dec 1997 16:18:01 -0800 Received: from localhost (HELO ella.mills.edu) (127.0.0.1) by localhost with SMTP; 16 Dec 1997 16:18:01 -0800 Message-Id: <34977C94.5341@ww-interlink.net> Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu