What is microtonal music - Revision history

BudjarnLambeth: /* Non-Western */

2025-10-12T03:03:17Z

Non-Western

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	Unfortunately, "microtonal" implies that you're using tiny intervals when you may not be, and "xenharmonic" has been called "so...negative." However, we must recall that in the original Greek, ''xenos'' can also mean "hospitable" -- a fact of which Ivor never tired of reminding those who objected to the term "xenharmonic." He pointed out "xenharmonic can also mean `hospitable to different tones.'" Ivor also suggested the term "'''neoteric'''" music earlier on, circa the late 1950s. One objection to this term is that it means "recent in origin," while many audibly microtonal tunings, like the Greek enharmonic genus, are anything BUT recent in origin!		Unfortunately, "microtonal" implies that you're using tiny intervals when you may not be, and "xenharmonic" has been called "so...negative." However, we must recall that in the original Greek, ''xenos'' can also mean "hospitable" -- a fact of which Ivor never tired of reminding those who objected to the term "xenharmonic." He pointed out "xenharmonic can also mean `hospitable to different tones.'" Ivor also suggested the term "'''neoteric'''" music earlier on, circa the late 1950s. One objection to this term is that it means "recent in origin," while many audibly microtonal tunings, like the Greek enharmonic genus, are anything BUT recent in origin!

	=== Non-Western ===		=== Non-Western tuning ===
	"'''Non-Western'''" sometimes proves a popular sobriquet. It has, as mentioned above, the drawback of implicitly defining modern conventional Western tuning as a universal standard. Since the conventional Western tuning of 12 equal semitones per octave did not even come into wide usage until roughly 300 years ago, and now seems to be going the way of the dodo and the passenger pigeon as more and more young composers use laptops and softsynths to generate music in tunings far outside anything inconventional western music, it becomes inadvisable to declare as a universal bedrock that which seems more like quicksand. As the history of all musical cultures shows, music changes, and often quite radically. The granite monuments deemed absolute for eternity in one musical era often vanish like smoke in the desert, leaving behind hardly a trace of their existence -- as the transformation of Western music proves. Western music started as an entirely melodic monophonic choral form based on pairs of conjoined ''tetraktys'' (sets of 4 notes) based on the number 4, and not recognizing triads as musical structures. In the early middle ages, Western music changed to a Pythagorean diatonic 7 note system based on the number 3 with occasional dyads involving perfect fifths, perfect fourths, and octaves (''fauxbourdon''). During the later middle ages, Western music changed yet again to a 12 note system of medieval modes in which the vertical perfect fourth became recognized as a point of musical stasis, while the major third was used as a musical [[dissonance]] but the major second was allowed as semi-[[consonance]] (Gothic era of Perotinus and Longinus). During the Renaissance period, these rules turned upside down, and tertian triadic harmony was employed for the first time, along with prohibitions against using the fourth as the final cadence because it was now judged a musical dissonance, while the major third became a musical consonance. Such radical transformations in Western musical usage over the years have continued to the present day, when such innovations as tone clusters, synthesizers, xenharmonic tunings, algorithmic composition, extended performance techniques, homebuilt instruments and sonification of non-musical datasets (as in ''The Earth's Magnetic Field'' by Charles Dodge) have in the 21st century become commonplace. Given the fact of such transilient change in Western music, it seems unwise to declare one particular aspect of Western music as a universal standard by which all other musics everywhere on the planet ought to be measured.		"'''Non-Western tuning'''" sometimes proves a popular sobriquet. It has, as mentioned above, the drawback of implicitly defining modern conventional Western tuning as a universal standard. Since the conventional Western tuning of 12 equal semitones per octave did not even come into wide usage until roughly 300 years ago, and now seems to be going the way of the dodo and the passenger pigeon as more and more young composers use laptops and softsynths to generate music in tunings far outside anything inconventional western music, it becomes inadvisable to declare as a universal bedrock that which seems more like quicksand. As the history of all musical cultures shows, music changes, and often quite radically. The granite monuments deemed absolute for eternity in one musical era often vanish like smoke in the desert, leaving behind hardly a trace of their existence -- as the transformation of Western music proves. Western music started as an entirely melodic monophonic choral form based on pairs of conjoined ''tetraktys'' (sets of 4 notes) based on the number 4, and not recognizing triads as musical structures. In the early middle ages, Western music changed to a Pythagorean diatonic 7 note system based on the number 3 with occasional dyads involving perfect fifths, perfect fourths, and octaves (''fauxbourdon''). During the later middle ages, Western music changed yet again to a 12 note system of medieval modes in which the vertical perfect fourth became recognized as a point of musical stasis, while the major third was used as a musical [[dissonance]] but the major second was allowed as semi-[[consonance]] (Gothic era of Perotinus and Longinus). During the Renaissance period, these rules turned upside down, and tertian triadic harmony was employed for the first time, along with prohibitions against using the fourth as the final cadence because it was now judged a musical dissonance, while the major third became a musical consonance. Such radical transformations in Western musical usage over the years have continued to the present day, when such innovations as tone clusters, synthesizers, xenharmonic tunings, algorithmic composition, extended performance techniques, homebuilt instruments and sonification of non-musical datasets (as in ''The Earth's Magnetic Field'' by Charles Dodge) have in the 21st century become commonplace. Given the fact of such transilient change in Western music, it seems unwise to declare one particular aspect of Western music as a universal standard by which all other musics everywhere on the planet ought to be measured.

	=== Alternative tuning ===		=== Alternative tuning ===

BudjarnLambeth at 08:50, 27 September 2025

2025-09-27T08:50:53Z

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	The important point about such music (tape music, extended performance techniques by the orchestra, etc.) is that retuning the individual random pitches even by large amounts (say, 50 cents) would make no difference to the overall effect of the music. In fact, many contemporary orchestral compositions which use extended performance techniques leave the specific choice of random pitches up to the performers, and as a result repeat performances of such compositions typically '''''do''''' exhibit large pitch variations. Regardless, the composition sounds the same -- and the reason is simple: because in such extended performance techniques, the individual pitches don't matter. What matters in such pieces is the ensemble effect, or, in tape music, the timbral effect. In genuine microtonality, however, the individual pitches matter a great deal.		The important point about such music (tape music, extended performance techniques by the orchestra, etc.) is that retuning the individual random pitches even by large amounts (say, 50 cents) would make no difference to the overall effect of the music. In fact, many contemporary orchestral compositions which use extended performance techniques leave the specific choice of random pitches up to the performers, and as a result repeat performances of such compositions typically '''''do''''' exhibit large pitch variations. Regardless, the composition sounds the same -- and the reason is simple: because in such extended performance techniques, the individual pitches don't matter. What matters in such pieces is the ensemble effect, or, in tape music, the timbral effect. In genuine microtonality, however, the individual pitches matter a great deal.

	The reason why such compositions (using extended performance techniques) sound the same even when played with greatly varying pitches in repeat performance is simple. Two performances of Penderecki's ''Threnody for the Victims Of Hiroshima'', for instance, hardly sound any different...even though the individual pitches played by the orchestra are scarcely comparable. The overall effect is what matters in such music, not the individual pitches. Much tape music and ''musique concrete'' and a fair amount of contemporary music makes use of glissing effects. For instance, Iannis Xenakis' early orchestral pieces (''Metastasis, Eonta, Kraanerg'') or Penderecki's ''Threnody For the Victims of Hiroshima'', akk make use of arbitrary pitch variations as a gestural or timbral effect rather than for their structural harmonic and melodic properties. Consequently, in many such compositions, the exact pitches are not even written down! Penderecki's score, for instance, merely uses thicker and thinner lines on an orchestral score to suggest general ranges of variation in pitch. This is clearly not microtonality because we are dealing here with glissandi or portamenti or other pitch variations used as gestures, rather than to produce audibly different harmonies and melodies which sound distinct from those of conventional Western music. Randomly-detuned pitches, especially those sounded in an orchestral ensemble, belong to an entirely different realm of music—the realm of aleatoric extended performance effects. Such gestural effects, while often musically valuable and useful, and often present in superb modern compositions, should not be confused with the specific structural use of non-Western harmonies and melodies as is found in, say, [[Ivor Darreg]]'s ''19-tone equal tempered prelude for guitar #1'', or [[Kraig Grady]]'s ''Farewell Ring'' (which uses one of [[Erv Wilson]]'s [[CPS]] JI tunings) or [[Bill Wesley]]'s ''Harmony 101'' or [[Kyle Gann]]'s ''Triskaidekaphilia (Tuning Study No.6)'' or [[William Schottstaedt]]'s ''Colony V''. Those latter compositions deploy a specific set of audibly non-Western pitches but nonetheless use relatively conventional harmonies and melodies. By contrast, Xenakis and Penderecki and tape composers like Pierre Henry and Tod Dockstader used non-western pitches as merely one among many audible effects in their arsenal of extended performance techniques to generate ensemble musical gestures in the service of a larger esthetic. To put it bluntly, tape music and mass random orchestral tone clusters are not meant to be heard in the same structural way as a Bach chorale, and listeners cannot expect to apply conventional methods of analysis of music theory to such compositions.		The reason why such compositions (using extended performance techniques) sound the same even when played with greatly varying pitches in repeat performance is simple. Two performances of Penderecki's ''Threnody for the Victims Of Hiroshima'', for instance, hardly sound any different...even though the individual pitches played by the orchestra are scarcely comparable. The overall effect is what matters in such music, not the individual pitches. Much tape music and ''musique concrete'' and a fair amount of contemporary music makes use of glissing effects. For instance, Iannis Xenakis' early orchestral pieces (''Metastasis, Eonta, Kraanerg'') or Penderecki's ''Threnody For the Victims of Hiroshima'', akk make use of arbitrary pitch variations as a gestural or timbral effect rather than for their structural harmonic and melodic properties. Consequently, in many such compositions, the exact pitches are not even written down! Penderecki's score, for instance, merely uses thicker and thinner lines on an orchestral score to suggest general ranges of variation in pitch. This is clearly not microtonality because we are dealing here with glissandi or portamenti or other pitch variations used as gestures, rather than to produce audibly different harmonies and melodies which sound distinct from those of conventional Western music. Randomly-detuned pitches, especially those sounded in an orchestral ensemble, belong to an entirely different realm of music—the realm of aleatoric extended performance effects. Such gestural effects, while often musically valuable and useful, and often present in superb modern compositions, should not be confused with the specific structural use of non-Western harmonies and melodies as is found in, say, [[Ivor Darreg]]'s ''19-tone equal tempered prelude for guitar #1'', or [[Kraig Grady]]'s ''Farewell Ring'' (which uses one of [[Erv Wilson]]'s [[CPS]] JI tunings) or [[Bill Wesley]]'s ''Harmony 101'' or [[Kyle Gann]]'s ''Triskaidekaphilia (Tuning Study No.6)'' or [[William Schottstaedt]]'s ''Colony V''. Those latter compositions deploy a specific set of audibly non-Western pitches but nonetheless use relatively conventional harmonies and melodies. By contrast, [[Xenakis]] and [[Penderecki]] and tape composers like [[Pierre Henry]] and [[Tod Dockstader]] used non-western pitches as merely one among many audible effects in their arsenal of extended performance techniques to generate ensemble musical gestures in the service of a larger esthetic. To put it bluntly, tape music and mass random orchestral tone clusters are not meant to be heard in the same structural way as a Bach chorale, and listeners cannot expect to apply conventional methods of analysis of music theory to such compositions.

	== Microtonality vs 'world music' ==		== Microtonality vs 'world music' ==

BudjarnLambeth at 00:26, 27 September 2025

2025-09-27T00:26:53Z

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	Conventional Western music uses 12 logarithmically equal [[semitone (interval size measure)\|semitone]]s in the [[octave]] (the octave is a frequency ratio of 2:1 in Western music, or 1200 [[cents]]. A "cent" is defined as 1/100 of a semitone.)		Conventional Western music uses 12 logarithmically equal [[semitone (interval size measure)\|semitone]]s in the [[octave]] (the octave is a frequency ratio of 2:1 in Western music, or 1200 [[cents]]. A "cent" is defined as 1/100 of a semitone.)

	The difficulty in defining exactly what microtonal music '''''is''''' arises from the long history of Western music. Definitions of music have changed enormously over the past 2500 years of Western history, and as a result the very definition of what is and is not standard practice in ~~Western~~ has transformed beyond all recognition.		The difficulty in defining exactly what microtonal music '''''is''''' arises from the long history of Western music. Definitions of music have changed enormously over the past 2500 years of Western history, and as a result the very definition of what is and is not standard practice in the West has transformed beyond all recognition.

	== Popular definitions ==		== Popular definitions ==

BudjarnLambeth: /* References */

2025-09-27T00:26:10Z

References

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	[mclaren 10/25/2006]		[mclaren 10/25/2006]

	=== References ===		== References ==
	[[Category:Overview]]		[[Category:Overview]]
	[[Category:Essays]]		[[Category:Essays]]

BudjarnLambeth at 00:25, 27 September 2025

2025-09-27T00:25:34Z

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	We must take care (when defining microtonality) not to indulge in the vulgar delusion that the Western world represents the aesthetic center of the universe. By calling "microtonal" all that which is non-Western, we subtly marginalize all musical culture other than Euro-North American musical culture. Not only is this unjust and unreasonable, it's stupid and ignorant. As sales of world music continue to skyrocket, it becomes ever clearer to music lovers in Europe and North America that the Western music tradition represents only a tiny fraction of the world's musical panorama. Non-western music offers vast beauties and amazing musical treasures, but we ought not to try to pigeonhole it as something defined by its opposition to Euro-American culture...since, after all, Western music remains by far the minority usage throughout the world. After all, well over 80% of the world's indigenous musical cultures politely refuse to use western tertian triadic harmony, decline to adhere to the Western belief in the harmonic series as the alleged basis of music, and pointedly rebut any application of mathematics or theory to their music. Indeed, as Jon Appleton has pointed out, most musical cultures throughout the world feel no need to explain or theorize about their music. Thus, many of the practices we Westerners consider essential to our music are not even found in the musical cultures of most other societies throughout the earth.		We must take care (when defining microtonality) not to indulge in the vulgar delusion that the Western world represents the aesthetic center of the universe. By calling "microtonal" all that which is non-Western, we subtly marginalize all musical culture other than Euro-North American musical culture. Not only is this unjust and unreasonable, it's stupid and ignorant. As sales of world music continue to skyrocket, it becomes ever clearer to music lovers in Europe and North America that the Western music tradition represents only a tiny fraction of the world's musical panorama. Non-western music offers vast beauties and amazing musical treasures, but we ought not to try to pigeonhole it as something defined by its opposition to Euro-American culture...since, after all, Western music remains by far the minority usage throughout the world. After all, well over 80% of the world's indigenous musical cultures politely refuse to use western tertian triadic harmony, decline to adhere to the Western belief in the harmonic series as the alleged basis of music, and pointedly rebut any application of mathematics or theory to their music. Indeed, as Jon Appleton has pointed out, most musical cultures throughout the world feel no need to explain or theorize about their music. Thus, many of the practices we Westerners consider essential to our music are not even found in the musical cultures of most other societies throughout the earth.

	~~[mclaren 10/25/2006]~~

	== Other terms used instead of "microtonal", or in addition to it ==		== Other terms used instead of "microtonal", or in addition to it ==
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	Yet another term is "'''ekmelic'''" - this one is used by the [http://www.ekmelic-music.org/ International Ekmelic Music Society] in Austria. The term comes from the Greek music theory: "ek Melos" is translated "out of range" - that is what pitches that were not included in the ancient Greek sound system were called. In the same meaning, the term can be used today for music that contains sounds that are outside of our traditional, [http://youtu.be/ztV8ONIMgmo 12-tone equal tempered system.]		Yet another term is "'''ekmelic'''" - this one is used by the [http://www.ekmelic-music.org/ International Ekmelic Music Society] in Austria. The term comes from the Greek music theory: "ek Melos" is translated "out of range" - that is what pitches that were not included in the ancient Greek sound system were called. In the same meaning, the term can be used today for music that contains sounds that are outside of our traditional, [http://youtu.be/ztV8ONIMgmo 12-tone equal tempered system.]

			[mclaren 10/25/2006]

			=== References ===
	[[Category:Overview]]		[[Category:Overview]]
	[[Category:Essays]]		[[Category:Essays]]

BudjarnLambeth: /* Other terms used instead of "microtonal", or in addition to it */

2025-09-27T00:19:33Z

Other terms used instead of "microtonal", or in addition to it

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	== Other terms used instead of "microtonal", or in addition to it ==		== Other terms used instead of "microtonal", or in addition to it ==
	Because of the slipperiness of the term "microtonal", other terms have been deployed to describe this great big teeming mass of adventurously different-sounding music.		{{wikipedia\|Microtonality#Terminology}} Because of the slipperiness of the term "microtonal", other terms have been deployed to describe this great big teeming mass of adventurously different-sounding music.

	=== Macrotonal ===		=== Macrotonal ===

BudjarnLambeth: /* Mestonal */

2025-09-27T00:10:36Z

Mestonal

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	One such term is "'''macrotonal'''". Macrotonal music only uses intervals which are larger than the semitone (but not necessarily multiples of it). Dividing the octave eight equal ways, for example, is a macrotonal tuning. The Javanese [[slendro]] tuning, with 5 unequal (but not justly tuned) pitches in a stretched octave, represents another example of a macrotonal tuning. Non-octave tunings like a Pythagorean JI tuning of 19 just perfect fifths in the 3:1 also presents us with an instance of a macrotonal tuning.		One such term is "'''macrotonal'''". Macrotonal music only uses intervals which are larger than the semitone (but not necessarily multiples of it). Dividing the octave eight equal ways, for example, is a macrotonal tuning. The Javanese [[slendro]] tuning, with 5 unequal (but not justly tuned) pitches in a stretched octave, represents another example of a macrotonal tuning. Non-octave tunings like a Pythagorean JI tuning of 19 just perfect fifths in the 3:1 also presents us with an instance of a macrotonal tuning.

	=== ~~Mestonal~~ ===		=== Mesotonal ===
	The term '''mesotonal'''{{idiosyncratic}} (sometimes capitalized as ''Mesotonal''), meaning "between tones"<ref>https://scholars.uow.edu.au/display/publication78311{{dead link}}</ref>, was created by [[Kraig Grady]] as an alternative to the term ''microtonal'', as well as ''[[macrotonal]]'', where the ''meso-'' prefix suggests neither that the tones are smaller nor larger than typical tones, but simply between them.		The term '''mesotonal'''{{idiosyncratic}} (sometimes capitalized as ''Mesotonal''), meaning "between tones"<ref>https://scholars.uow.edu.au/display/publication78311{{dead link}}</ref>, was created by [[Kraig Grady]] as an alternative to the term ''microtonal'', as well as ''[[macrotonal]]'', where the ''meso-'' prefix suggests neither that the tones are smaller nor larger than typical tones, but simply between them.

BudjarnLambeth at 00:10, 27 September 2025

2025-09-27T00:10:04Z

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	The difficulty in defining exactly what microtonal music '''''is''''' arises from the long history of Western music. Definitions of music have changed enormously over the past 2500 years of Western history, and as a result the very definition of what is and is not standard practice in Western has transformed beyond all recognition.		The difficulty in defining exactly what microtonal music '''''is''''' arises from the long history of Western music. Definitions of music have changed enormously over the past 2500 years of Western history, and as a result the very definition of what is and is not standard practice in Western has transformed beyond all recognition.

			== Popular definitions ==
	Let's take a look at several popular definitions of microtonality to see what's involved:		Let's take a look at several popular definitions of microtonality to see what's involved:

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	One again, the use of [[ancient Greek]] genera like the chromatic and diatonic [[genera]] to play diatonic conventional music may prove musically tantalizing for a variety of reasons, but this has nothing to do with microtonality. Those two Greek genera sound for all practical purposes identical to modern diatonic 7-note scales played in a modern conventional tuning. Thus, once again, using ancient Greek tunings like the chromatic or diatonic genus is not "microtonal" and has nothing to do with microtonality. Using the Greek enharmonic genus, however, '''is''' microtonal, since this tuning differs audibly from any conventional western tuning.		One again, the use of [[ancient Greek]] genera like the chromatic and diatonic [[genera]] to play diatonic conventional music may prove musically tantalizing for a variety of reasons, but this has nothing to do with microtonality. Those two Greek genera sound for all practical purposes identical to modern diatonic 7-note scales played in a modern conventional tuning. Thus, once again, using ancient Greek tunings like the chromatic or diatonic genus is not "microtonal" and has nothing to do with microtonality. Using the Greek enharmonic genus, however, '''is''' microtonal, since this tuning differs audibly from any conventional western tuning.

			== Microtonality vs procedural music ==
	One further complication arises in defining microtonal music. Namely, distinguishing random mass ensemble effects and extended performance techniques from genuine microtonality. X. J. Scott has clearly and vehemently reminded musicians that "microtonal" music is not the same as "micro-atonal" music. That is say, there is a huge difference between randomly hitting any pitch willy-nilly, such as you might get by blowing on a kazoo while randomly sliding the pitch around, or waving your hand randomly in the control volume of a theremin, and actual microtonality produced by repeatably and reliably sounding a specific set of distinctly audible non-Western pitches. Scott's point remains important because much of what gets misnamed in contemporary Western art music as "microtonal" is in fact "micro-atonal," or randomly pitched music. The overall effect of randomly pitches music is a sense of pitch movement -- without any sense of specific pitches. Excellent examples include much of the tape music and ''musique concrete'' produced during the 1940s through the 1970s. Such music, while in many cases excellent and worthwhile, fails to qualify as microtonal because it sound no specific set of repeatable pitches. Instead, such music uses whatever pitches happen to be found -- perhaps the randomly detuned pitch of a train whistle recorded and slowed down, or a recording of someone randomly glissing on a violin. (Indeed, another term for ''musique concrete'' is "found music.) These kinds of aimless incoherent pitch variances fail to qualify as microtonal because they exhibit no audible structure. The listener does not hear anything but a chaotic mass of intervals without rhyme or reason. As a result, the listener cannot tell whether some of the pitches are the same, or different from, those of conventional western music: it's a haze of apparently arbitrary pitches used primarily for the effect of "pitch difference," not to sound specifically xenharmonic melodies or harmonies.		One further complication arises in defining microtonal music. Namely, distinguishing random mass ensemble effects and extended performance techniques from genuine microtonality. X. J. Scott has clearly and vehemently reminded musicians that "microtonal" music is not the same as "micro-atonal" music. That is say, there is a huge difference between randomly hitting any pitch willy-nilly, such as you might get by blowing on a kazoo while randomly sliding the pitch around, or waving your hand randomly in the control volume of a theremin, and actual microtonality produced by repeatably and reliably sounding a specific set of distinctly audible non-Western pitches. Scott's point remains important because much of what gets misnamed in contemporary Western art music as "microtonal" is in fact "micro-atonal," or randomly pitched music. The overall effect of randomly pitches music is a sense of pitch movement -- without any sense of specific pitches. Excellent examples include much of the tape music and ''musique concrete'' produced during the 1940s through the 1970s. Such music, while in many cases excellent and worthwhile, fails to qualify as microtonal because it sound no specific set of repeatable pitches. Instead, such music uses whatever pitches happen to be found -- perhaps the randomly detuned pitch of a train whistle recorded and slowed down, or a recording of someone randomly glissing on a violin. (Indeed, another term for ''musique concrete'' is "found music.) These kinds of aimless incoherent pitch variances fail to qualify as microtonal because they exhibit no audible structure. The listener does not hear anything but a chaotic mass of intervals without rhyme or reason. As a result, the listener cannot tell whether some of the pitches are the same, or different from, those of conventional western music: it's a haze of apparently arbitrary pitches used primarily for the effect of "pitch difference," not to sound specifically xenharmonic melodies or harmonies.

	The important point about such music (tape music, extended performance techniques by the orchestra, etc.) is that retuning the individual random pitches even by large amounts (say, 50 cents) would make no difference to the overall effect of the music. In fact, many contemporary orchestral compositions which use extended performance techniques leave the specific choice of random pitches up to the performers, and as a result repeat performances of such compositions typically '''''do''''' exhibit large pitch variations. Regardless, the composition sounds the same -- and the reason is simple: because in such extended performance techniques, the individual pitches don't matter. What matters in such pieces is the ensemble effect, or, in tape music, the timbral effect. In genuine microtonality, however, the individual pitches matter a great deal.		The important point about such music (tape music, extended performance techniques by the orchestra, etc.) is that retuning the individual random pitches even by large amounts (say, 50 cents) would make no difference to the overall effect of the music. In fact, many contemporary orchestral compositions which use extended performance techniques leave the specific choice of random pitches up to the performers, and as a result repeat performances of such compositions typically '''''do''''' exhibit large pitch variations. Regardless, the composition sounds the same -- and the reason is simple: because in such extended performance techniques, the individual pitches don't matter. What matters in such pieces is the ensemble effect, or, in tape music, the timbral effect. In genuine microtonality, however, the individual pitches matter a great deal.

	The reason why such compositions (using extended performance techniques) sound the same even when played with greatly varying pitches in repeat performance is simple. Two performances of Penderecki's ''Threnody for the Victims Of Hiroshima'', for instance, hardly sound any different...even though the individual pitches played by the orchestra are scarcely comparable. The overall effect is what matters in such music, not the individual pitches. Much tape music and ''musique concrete'' and a fair amount ~~ofcontemporary~~ music makes use of glissing effects. For instance, Iannis Xenakis' early orchestral pieces (''Metastasis, Eonta, Kraanerg'') or Penderecki's ''Threnody For the Victims of Hiroshima'', akk make use of arbitrary pitch variations as a gestural or timbral effect rather than for their structural harmonic and melodic properties. Consequently, in many such compositions, the exact pitches are not even written down! Penderecki's score, for instance, merely uses thicker and thinner lines on an orchestral score to suggest general ranges of variation in pitch. This is clearly not microtonality because we are dealing here with glissandi or portamenti or other pitch variations used as gestures, rather than to produce audibly different harmonies and melodies which sound distinct from those of conventional Western music. Randomly-detuned pitches, especially those sounded in an orchestral ensemble, belong to an entirely different realm of music—the realm of aleatoric extended performance effects. Such gestural effects, while often musically valuable and useful, and often present in superb modern compositions, should not be confused with the specific structural use of non-Western harmonies and melodies as is found in, say, [[Ivor Darreg]]'s ''19-tone equal tempered prelude for guitar #1'', or [[Kraig Grady]]'s ''Farewell Ring'' (which uses one of [[Erv Wilson]]'s [[CPS]] JI tunings) or [[Bill Wesley]]'s ''Harmony 101'' or [[Kyle Gann]]'s ''Triskaidekaphilia (Tuning Study No.6)'' or [[William Schottstaedt]]'s ''Colony V''. Those latter compositions deploy a specific set of audibly non-Western pitches but nonetheless use relatively conventional harmonies and melodies. By contrast, Xenakis and Penderecki and tape composers like Pierre Henry and Tod Dockstader used non-western pitches as merely one among many audible effects in their arsenal of extended performance techniques to generate ensemble musical gestures in the service of a larger esthetic. To put it bluntly, tape music and mass random orchestral tone clusters are not meant to be heard in the same structural way as a Bach chorale, and listeners cannot expect to apply conventional methods of analysis of music theory to such compositions.		The reason why such compositions (using extended performance techniques) sound the same even when played with greatly varying pitches in repeat performance is simple. Two performances of Penderecki's ''Threnody for the Victims Of Hiroshima'', for instance, hardly sound any different...even though the individual pitches played by the orchestra are scarcely comparable. The overall effect is what matters in such music, not the individual pitches. Much tape music and ''musique concrete'' and a fair amount of contemporary music makes use of glissing effects. For instance, Iannis Xenakis' early orchestral pieces (''Metastasis, Eonta, Kraanerg'') or Penderecki's ''Threnody For the Victims of Hiroshima'', akk make use of arbitrary pitch variations as a gestural or timbral effect rather than for their structural harmonic and melodic properties. Consequently, in many such compositions, the exact pitches are not even written down! Penderecki's score, for instance, merely uses thicker and thinner lines on an orchestral score to suggest general ranges of variation in pitch. This is clearly not microtonality because we are dealing here with glissandi or portamenti or other pitch variations used as gestures, rather than to produce audibly different harmonies and melodies which sound distinct from those of conventional Western music. Randomly-detuned pitches, especially those sounded in an orchestral ensemble, belong to an entirely different realm of music—the realm of aleatoric extended performance effects. Such gestural effects, while often musically valuable and useful, and often present in superb modern compositions, should not be confused with the specific structural use of non-Western harmonies and melodies as is found in, say, [[Ivor Darreg]]'s ''19-tone equal tempered prelude for guitar #1'', or [[Kraig Grady]]'s ''Farewell Ring'' (which uses one of [[Erv Wilson]]'s [[CPS]] JI tunings) or [[Bill Wesley]]'s ''Harmony 101'' or [[Kyle Gann]]'s ''Triskaidekaphilia (Tuning Study No.6)'' or [[William Schottstaedt]]'s ''Colony V''. Those latter compositions deploy a specific set of audibly non-Western pitches but nonetheless use relatively conventional harmonies and melodies. By contrast, Xenakis and Penderecki and tape composers like Pierre Henry and Tod Dockstader used non-western pitches as merely one among many audible effects in their arsenal of extended performance techniques to generate ensemble musical gestures in the service of a larger esthetic. To put it bluntly, tape music and mass random orchestral tone clusters are not meant to be heard in the same structural way as a Bach chorale, and listeners cannot expect to apply conventional methods of analysis of music theory to such compositions.

			== Microtonality vs 'world music' ==
	Finally, this raises the crucial issue of musical style. Javanese [[gamelan]] music sounds audibly different from conventional Western music: is it microtonal? Most people would say "no," and the evidence is clear. In record stores we never find Javanese gamelan CDs in a section labeled "microtonal music." Instead, we typically find Javanese gamelan CDs in the "Non-Western" section.		Finally, this raises the crucial issue of musical style. Javanese [[gamelan]] music sounds audibly different from conventional Western music: is it microtonal? Most people would say "no," and the evidence is clear. In record stores we never find Javanese gamelan CDs in a section labeled "microtonal music." Instead, we typically find Javanese gamelan CDs in the "Non-Western" section.

BudjarnLambeth at 00:06, 27 September 2025

2025-09-27T00:06:01Z

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	We must take care (when defining microtonality) not to indulge in the vulgar delusion that the Western world represents the aesthetic center of the universe. By calling "microtonal" all that which is non-Western, we subtly marginalize all musical culture other than Euro-North American musical culture. Not only is this unjust and unreasonable, it's stupid and ignorant. As sales of world music continue to skyrocket, it becomes ever clearer to music lovers in Europe and North America that the Western music tradition represents only a tiny fraction of the world's musical panorama. Non-western music offers vast beauties and amazing musical treasures, but we ought not to try to pigeonhole it as something defined by its opposition to Euro-American culture...since, after all, Western music remains by far the minority usage throughout the world. After all, well over 80% of the world's indigenous musical cultures politely refuse to use western tertian triadic harmony, decline to adhere to the Western belief in the harmonic series as the alleged basis of music, and pointedly rebut any application of mathematics or theory to their music. Indeed, as Jon Appleton has pointed out, most musical cultures throughout the world feel no need to explain or theorize about their music. Thus, many of the practices we Westerners consider essential to our music are not even found in the musical cultures of most other societies throughout the earth.		We must take care (when defining microtonality) not to indulge in the vulgar delusion that the Western world represents the aesthetic center of the universe. By calling "microtonal" all that which is non-Western, we subtly marginalize all musical culture other than Euro-North American musical culture. Not only is this unjust and unreasonable, it's stupid and ignorant. As sales of world music continue to skyrocket, it becomes ever clearer to music lovers in Europe and North America that the Western music tradition represents only a tiny fraction of the world's musical panorama. Non-western music offers vast beauties and amazing musical treasures, but we ought not to try to pigeonhole it as something defined by its opposition to Euro-American culture...since, after all, Western music remains by far the minority usage throughout the world. After all, well over 80% of the world's indigenous musical cultures politely refuse to use western tertian triadic harmony, decline to adhere to the Western belief in the harmonic series as the alleged basis of music, and pointedly rebut any application of mathematics or theory to their music. Indeed, as Jon Appleton has pointed out, most musical cultures throughout the world feel no need to explain or theorize about their music. Thus, many of the practices we Westerners consider essential to our music are not even found in the musical cultures of most other societies throughout the earth.

			[mclaren 10/25/2006]

	== Other terms used instead of "microtonal", or in addition to it ==		== Other terms used instead of "microtonal", or in addition to it ==

BudjarnLambeth: /* Other terms used instead of "microtonal", or in addition to it */

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Other terms used instead of "microtonal", or in addition to it

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	Perhaps the most popular term other than "microtonal" is "xenharmonic".		Perhaps the most popular term other than "microtonal" is "xenharmonic".

	~~=== What is xenharmonic music? ===~~
	'''[[Xenharmonic]]''' is a term coined by the late Ivor Darreg, from Greek ''xenos'' "strange, foreign" + ''harmonikos'' "sound, harmonic" to classify music in tunings that are definitely aurally distinct from the typical twelve tone equal tuning.		'''[[Xenharmonic]]''' is a term coined by the late Ivor Darreg, from Greek ''xenos'' "strange, foreign" + ''harmonikos'' "sound, harmonic" to classify music in tunings that are definitely aurally distinct from the typical twelve tone equal tuning.