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Microtonality and Kyle Gann

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Anonden
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« on: November 17, 2016, 11:23:35 pm »

I discovered Gann via the net about ten years ago, had some conversations with him, this was all via his personal site, then a little while later kinda abandoned him. Today in reading a post here that linked an obituary on Boulez (on Art Journal), I found some of his music he's posted in blog articles. Listening again, I fail to hear the novelty in this kind of microtonality. (I've found I prefer the Lejarn Hiller type.)

http://www.artsjournal.com/postclassic/2016/08/another-do-it-yourselfer.html


Not just that the tones sound 'out of tune'. They don't sound smooth. And combined with temperament tones distract from the 'harmony' - particularly in something like Futility Row. I found Orbital Resonance more enjoyable - though again the 'coarse' tones seem to clutter the space. In short, I don't get it. Anyone have pointers or advice or.....?
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Jolly Roger
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« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2016, 08:17:57 am »

I discovered Gann via the net about ten years ago, had some conversations with him, this was all via his personal site, then a little while later kinda abandoned him. Today in reading a post here that linked an obituary on Boulez (on Art Journal), I found some of his music he's posted in blog articles. Listening again, I fail to hear the novelty in this kind of microtonality. (I've found I prefer the Lejarn Hiller type.)

http://www.artsjournal.com/postclassic/2016/08/another-do-it-yourselfer.html


Not just that the tones sound 'out of tune'. They don't sound smooth. And combined with temperament tones distract from the 'harmony' - particularly in something like Futility Row. I found Orbital Resonance more enjoyable - though again the 'coarse' tones seem to clutter the space. In short, I don't get it. Anyone have pointers or advice or.....?
You need to hear Easly Blackwood...delicious and microtonal..
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autoharp
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« Reply #2 on: November 18, 2016, 05:38:57 pm »

Agreed!

3 of the (equal-tempered) Microtonal Etudes are on youtube

13 notes (to the octave)


16 notes


18 notes
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Anonden
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« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2016, 09:51:25 pm »

I listened to Futility Row again last night, and was able to hear for itself. Still not my preference, though.


Yeah, equal tempered microtones are more agreeable to my ear*, though I think electronic timbres are cheating a little because of their simplicity (that's a decently sequenced example, though). Illiac Suite (Lejaren Hiller) I've long enjoyed.


* except in certain cases where an instrument must slightly alter its intonation for the passage: some years ago, my girlfriend at the time was working on the Elgar viola concerto, and that da da (and up) DA, sounded flat. I may've heard the work some years before on the radio....  She said it was proper pitch, and I said let's hear your reference recording - and sure enough he went sharp, and dandelion it sounded good. ((Wow, it's that...erm....proper here. I always find the limits of a place.))
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Anonden
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« Reply #4 on: November 19, 2016, 06:24:44 am »

Perhaps I'm leading myself into liking this stuff. Actually, a part of it is that I'd forgotten my Conlon Nancarrow - mostly the player piano pieces, at least as I recall some of it approaching microtonality simply by rhythmic articulation - though another part of it is the music is at least interesting. More so, again, to me if it's chromatic. But I'll be more to the point. Futility Row has an arguably 'modern' jazz backbone. Star Dance continues in this, more mysteriously, and then....well, I can totally imagine one composing this in 12TET and then adjusting the intonation until you get the desired effect. Kind of like electric guitar. In any case, it was enjoyable.
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