Mclaren-notation: Difference between revisions

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From: mclaren

From: [[mclaren]]

==Approaches to microtonal notation==

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===Computer and MIDI formats===

The year 1986 marks a sharp break with all previous musical history. Prior to that year, a microtonalist who wanted to compose and perform music outside the 12 tone equal temperament had to build special-purpose one of a kind instruments and train players in exotic performance techniques. This changed in 1983 with the advent of MIDI. In 1986 the first commercial affordable retunable synthesizers had appeared, and since that time retunability has always been available on at least some MIDI synthesizers. This means that since 1986 microtonality has been standardized to some degree on electronic instruments, and brought within the budget of the average musician. The standard protocol for microtonal electronic music is called MIDI (an acronym which stands for "Musical Instrument Digital Interface"). This standard protocol allows any MIDI synthesizer or controller to send notes to any other MIDI synthesizer or controller. The MIDI protocol is revolutionary because it does not embody pitch information: a MIDI "note" is merely an instruction which tells a synthesizer to look at one of 128 locations in a numerical table and sound the pitch which resides there. Once MIDI notes are stored in a file, a composition can be reproduced exactly on another computer provided that an identically-tuned synthesizer is available. Thus MIDI is a musical notation, but a singularly oblique one: in this notation, there are 16 channels, each with 128 "slots" to which any pitch can be assigned. By itself, a MIDI note betokens nothing: the notation only makes sense when combined with the values of the numeric pitch table stored in the synthesizer's memory.

The year 1986 marks a sharp break with all previous musical history. Prior to that year, a microtonalist who wanted to compose and perform music outside the 12 tone equal temperament had to build special-purpose one of a kind instruments and train players in exotic performance techniques. This changed in 1983 with the advent of [[MIDI]]. In 1986 the first commercial affordable retunable synthesizers had appeared, and since that time retunability has always been available on at least some MIDI synthesizers. This means that since 1986 microtonality has been standardized to some degree on electronic instruments, and brought within the budget of the average musician. The standard protocol for microtonal electronic music is called MIDI (an acronym which stands for "Musical Instrument Digital Interface"). This standard protocol allows any MIDI synthesizer or controller to send notes to any other MIDI synthesizer or controller. The MIDI protocol is revolutionary because it does not embody pitch information: a MIDI "note" is merely an instruction which tells a synthesizer to look at one of 128 locations in a numerical table and sound the pitch which resides there. Once MIDI notes are stored in a file, a composition can be reproduced exactly on another computer provided that an identically-tuned synthesizer is available. Thus MIDI is a musical notation, but a singularly oblique one: in this notation, there are 16 channels, each with 128 "slots" to which any pitch can be assigned. By itself, a MIDI note betokens nothing: the notation only makes sense when combined with the values of the numeric pitch table stored in the synthesizer's memory.

The oblique nature of MIDI's reference to pitch incurs some disadvantages--for example, it is not possible to tell by looking at a printout of a MIDI note file which pitches the synthesizer is actually playing, since the "notes" are merely abstract numbers from 0 to 127 indicating arbitrary sound frequencies. It can also be confusing, when performing a composition which uses several pitch tables spread over several channels: which pitch sounds on which MIDI "note" on which channel? Yet another potential drawback derives from the fact that all MIDI synthesizers typically require that a pitch be specified to the nearest 1/768 of an octave, or the nearest 1/1024 of an octave. This accuracy may not be sufficient for some musical purposes, particularly long-held microtonal just intonation chords. However the MIDI protocol's uniquely generality also confers some advantages. For one, MIDI allows any conceivable tuning to be played--as long as it can be represented within a gamut of 128 abstract numbers. For another, a MIDI controller need not be a physical keyboard: it can, for instance, be an entirely abstract software program which generates MIDI "notes" as a result of purely mathematical procedures.

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Microtonal acoustic or electronic performances need not consist of specifically defined discrete notes; microtonal tone-complexes and clusters or clouds of notes can be produced by gestures. For example, many of Tom Nunn's and Bart Hopkins' and Trimpin's and Q.R. Ghazala's microtonal instruments generate sweeps of sound in response to continuous movements, pressures or manipulations with a bow or stick or hand. Notations for these instruments are often gestural in nature. Similar gestures repeated on the same section of an electroacoustic or acoustic microtonal instrument whose components resonate or interact electronically will often produce distinctly microtonal and reproducibly similar sets of pitches. Such notations typically place more emphasis on the mode of excitation, the object used, and the exact spot on the instrument stroked or bowed, than on the pitch produced.

Microtonalists who use such notations typically invent new instruments based on resonant or gestural principles. Such microtonalists include Jacques Dudon (who employs sequencer disks in his photoelectric synthesizer to control the operation of the other discs) Bart Hopkins, Jonathan Glasier, Tom Nunn, Q.R. Ghazala, Trimpin, Iannis Xenakis (in his UPIC system), Donald Buchla (in his Lightning series of digital sensors) and others.

Microtonalists who use such notations typically invent new instruments based on resonant or gestural principles. Such microtonalists include Jacques Dudon (who employs sequencer disks in his photoelectric synthesizer to control the operation of the other discs) Bart Hopkins, Jonathan Glasier, Tom Nunn, Q.R. Ghazala, Trimpin, [[Iannis Xenakis]] (in his UPIC system), Donald Buchla (in his Lightning series of digital sensors) and others.

===Procedural strategies===

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--mclaren

''fetched 8/10/06 from [http://www.microtonal.freeservers.com/mclaren/post194.html http://www.microtonal.freeservers.com/mclaren/post194.html]'' [[Category:notation]]

''fetched 8/10/06 from [http://www.microtonal.freeservers.com/mclaren/post194.html http://www.microtonal.freeservers.com/mclaren/post194.html] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20130906171452/http://www.microtonal.freeservers.com/mclaren/post194.html archived])''

[[Category:~~theory~~]]

[[Category:notation]]

[[Category:Essays]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-From: mclaren
+From: [[mclaren]]
 ==Approaches to microtonal notation==
@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 ===Computer and MIDI formats===
-The year 1986 marks a sharp break with all previous musical history. Prior to that year, a microtonalist who wanted to compose and perform music outside the 12 tone equal temperament had to build special-purpose one of a kind instruments and train players in exotic performance techniques. This changed in 1983 with the advent of MIDI. In 1986 the first commercial affordable retunable synthesizers had appeared, and since that time retunability has always been available on at least some MIDI synthesizers. This means that since 1986 microtonality has been standardized to some degree on electronic instruments, and brought within the budget of the average musician. The standard protocol for microtonal electronic music is called MIDI (an acronym which stands for "Musical Instrument Digital Interface"). This standard protocol allows any MIDI synthesizer or controller to send notes to any other MIDI synthesizer or controller. The MIDI protocol is revolutionary because it does not embody pitch information: a MIDI "note" is merely an instruction which tells a synthesizer to look at one of 128 locations in a numerical table and sound the pitch which resides there. Once MIDI notes are stored in a file, a composition can be reproduced exactly on another computer provided that an identically-tuned synthesizer is available. Thus MIDI is a musical notation, but a singularly oblique one: in this notation, there are 16 channels, each with 128 "slots" to which any pitch can be assigned. By itself, a MIDI note betokens nothing: the notation only makes sense when combined with the values of the numeric pitch table stored in the synthesizer's memory.
+The year 1986 marks a sharp break with all previous musical history. Prior to that year, a microtonalist who wanted to compose and perform music outside the 12 tone equal temperament had to build special-purpose one of a kind instruments and train players in exotic performance techniques. This changed in 1983 with the advent of [[MIDI]]. In 1986 the first commercial affordable retunable synthesizers had appeared, and since that time retunability has always been available on at least some MIDI synthesizers. This means that since 1986 microtonality has been standardized to some degree on electronic instruments, and brought within the budget of the average musician. The standard protocol for microtonal electronic music is called MIDI (an acronym which stands for "Musical Instrument Digital Interface"). This standard protocol allows any MIDI synthesizer or controller to send notes to any other MIDI synthesizer or controller. The MIDI protocol is revolutionary because it does not embody pitch information: a MIDI "note" is merely an instruction which tells a synthesizer to look at one of 128 locations in a numerical table and sound the pitch which resides there. Once MIDI notes are stored in a file, a composition can be reproduced exactly on another computer provided that an identically-tuned synthesizer is available. Thus MIDI is a musical notation, but a singularly oblique one: in this notation, there are 16 channels, each with 128 "slots" to which any pitch can be assigned. By itself, a MIDI note betokens nothing: the notation only makes sense when combined with the values of the numeric pitch table stored in the synthesizer's memory.
 The oblique nature of MIDI's reference to pitch incurs some disadvantages--for example, it is not possible to tell by looking at a printout of a MIDI note file which pitches the synthesizer is actually playing, since the "notes" are merely abstract numbers from 0 to 127 indicating arbitrary sound frequencies. It can also be confusing, when performing a composition which uses several pitch tables spread over several channels: which pitch sounds on which MIDI "note" on which channel? Yet another potential drawback derives from the fact that all MIDI synthesizers typically require that a pitch be specified to the nearest 1/768 of an octave, or the nearest 1/1024 of an octave. This accuracy may not be sufficient for some musical purposes, particularly long-held microtonal just intonation chords. However the MIDI protocol's uniquely generality also confers some advantages. For one, MIDI allows any conceivable tuning to be played--as long as it can be represented within a gamut of 128 abstract numbers. For another, a MIDI controller need not be a physical keyboard: it can, for instance, be an entirely abstract software program which generates MIDI "notes" as a result of purely mathematical procedures.
@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 Microtonal acoustic or electronic performances need not consist of specifically defined discrete notes; microtonal tone-complexes and clusters or clouds of notes can be produced by gestures. For example, many of Tom Nunn's and Bart Hopkins' and Trimpin's and Q.R. Ghazala's microtonal instruments generate sweeps of sound in response to continuous movements, pressures or manipulations with a bow or stick or hand. Notations for these instruments are often gestural in nature. Similar gestures repeated on the same section of an electroacoustic or acoustic microtonal instrument whose components resonate or interact electronically will often produce distinctly microtonal and reproducibly similar sets of pitches. Such notations typically place more emphasis on the mode of excitation, the object used, and the exact spot on the instrument stroked or bowed, than on the pitch produced.
-Microtonalists who use such notations typically invent new instruments based on resonant or gestural principles. Such microtonalists include Jacques Dudon (who employs sequencer disks in his photoelectric synthesizer to control the operation of the other discs) Bart Hopkins, Jonathan Glasier, Tom Nunn, Q.R. Ghazala, Trimpin, Iannis Xenakis (in his UPIC system), Donald Buchla (in his Lightning series of digital sensors) and others.
+Microtonalists who use such notations typically invent new instruments based on resonant or gestural principles. Such microtonalists include Jacques Dudon (who employs sequencer disks in his photoelectric synthesizer to control the operation of the other discs) Bart Hopkins, Jonathan Glasier, Tom Nunn, Q.R. Ghazala, Trimpin, [[Iannis Xenakis]] (in his UPIC system), Donald Buchla (in his Lightning series of digital sensors) and others.
 ===Procedural strategies===
@@ Line 50: / Line 50: @@
 --mclaren
-''fetched 8/10/06 from [http://www.microtonal.freeservers.com/mclaren/post194.html http://www.microtonal.freeservers.com/mclaren/post194.html]''      [[Category:notation]]
+''fetched 8/10/06 from [http://www.microtonal.freeservers.com/mclaren/post194.html http://www.microtonal.freeservers.com/mclaren/post194.html] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20130906171452/http://www.microtonal.freeservers.com/mclaren/post194.html archived])''
-[[Category:theory]]
+{{Navbox notation}}
+[[Category:notation]]
+[[Category:Essays]]