Microtonal music: Difference between revisions
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== Terminology == | == Terminology == | ||
Many dictionaries define microtonal music as music that employs intervals smaller than a semitone. However, in contemporary practice, microtonal music is any music that is not 12edo, even if it is in a tuning system that does not use any intervals less than a 12edo semitone step. | Many dictionaries define microtonal music as music that employs intervals smaller than a semitone. However, in contemporary practice, microtonal music is any music that is not in [[12edo]], even if it is in a tuning system that does not use any intervals less than a 12edo semitone step. | ||
Several terms have been proposed with more or less similar definitions. A notable example is '''xenharmonic music''', coined by [[Ivor Darreg]], which describes music that sounds significantly different from 12edo. There are many gray areas regarding what sort of systems qualify as xenharmonic or not, and no rigorous definition seems to be universally acceptable among xenharmonists. | Several terms have been proposed with more or less similar definitions. A notable example is '''xenharmonic music''', coined by [[Ivor Darreg]], which describes music that sounds ''significantly'' different from 12edo. There are many gray areas regarding what sort of systems qualify as xenharmonic or not, and no rigorous definition seems to be universally acceptable among xenharmonists. | ||
=== Scope of this wiki === | |||
Despite being named the ''Xenharmonic Wiki'', this wiki documents any and all kinds of musical tunings, no matter whether one counts them as xenharmonic or not. | |||
=== Debates and usage === | === Debates and usage === | ||
==== Xenharmonic ==== | ==== Xenharmonic ==== | ||
{{see also|History and philosophy of xenharmonic music}} | |||
Many theorists caution against using the term ''xenharmonic'' for non-Western traditions that use non-12edo tunings. This is because the prefix ''xen-'' denotes otherness, so calling those traditions ''xenharmonic'' implies they are "exotic", and that Western 12edo music is "normal". | Many theorists caution against using the term ''xenharmonic'' for non-Western traditions that use non-12edo tunings. This is because the prefix ''xen-'' denotes otherness, so calling those traditions ''xenharmonic'' implies they are "exotic", and that Western 12edo music is "normal". | ||
To avoid unintentionally spreading such misconceptions, theorists often use ''xenharmonic'' only to mean ''Western'' non-12edo traditions | To avoid unintentionally spreading such misconceptions, theorists often use ''xenharmonic'' only to mean ''Western'' non-12edo traditions, with ''microtonal'' being a broader catch-all term that also includes non-Western traditions too. | ||
Because the prefix ''xen-'' denotes otherness, many theorists also caution against using ''xenharmonic'' to describe tunings that are very similar to 12edo, on the grounds that they do not really exhibit that "otherness". | Because the prefix ''xen-'' denotes otherness, many theorists also caution against using ''xenharmonic'' to describe tunings that are very similar to 12edo, on the grounds that they do not really exhibit that "otherness". | ||
Some theorists, for example, would argue that [[historical temperaments]] like meantone are not xenharmonic, because they follow almost identical rules to 12edo and sound very similar to it too. They would argue that only tunings which deviate significantly from 12edo, like [[11edo]], [[Bohlen–Pierce]] or [[orwell]], are truly xenharmonic. | Some theorists, for example, would argue that [[historical temperaments]] like meantone are not xenharmonic, because they follow almost identical rules to 12edo and sound very similar to it too. They would argue that only tunings which deviate significantly from 12edo, like [[11edo]], [[Bohlen–Pierce]] or [[orwell]], are truly xenharmonic. Xenharmony, of course, can be conceived as a spectrum of increasing distinction from 12edo in terms of tuning as well as ''how'' that tuning may be used in a piece of music. | ||
==== Microtonal ==== | ==== Microtonal ==== | ||
The term ''microtonal'' is itself contested, because it implies that 12edo's step sizes are "normal-sized tones" and that anything smaller than them is "micro". Of course in reality, there is nothing more or less "normal" about 12edo's step size than any other system. | The term ''microtonal'' is itself contested, because it implies that 12edo's step sizes are "normal-sized tones" and that anything smaller than them is "micro". Of course in reality, there is nothing more or less "normal" about 12edo's step size than any other system. | ||
The term ''microtonal'' can also cause confusion for music students because some <u>micro</u>tonal scales like [[5edo]] or | The term ''microtonal'' can also cause confusion for music students because some <u>micro</u>tonal scales like [[5edo]] or orwell[9] actually have ''larger'' step sizes than 12edo. | ||
Despite these concerns, ''microtonal'' still remains in broad use among most musicologists as the main catch-all term to describe this kind of music. Because it does not cause too much offense, and because of the sheer inertia of the term being so widely known, it seems likely that ''microtonal'' will continue to be the most common term for non-12edo music in general. | Despite these concerns, ''microtonal'' still remains in broad use among most musicologists as the main catch-all term to describe this kind of music. Because it does not cause too much offense, and because of the sheer inertia of the term being so widely known, it seems likely that ''microtonal'' will continue to be the most common term for non-12edo music in general. | ||
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==== Other alternatives ==== | ==== Other alternatives ==== | ||
{{ | {{main|What is microtonal music #Other terms used instead of "microtonal", or in addition to it }} | ||
== History == | == History == | ||
Sometime before 1900, composer [[Julián Carrillo|Julián Carrillo Trujillo]] performed experiments on a violin string, using a razor blade to achieve very precise intervals smaller than a [[semitone]], which he called ''microtono''. Over a decade later, the music theorist {{w|Maud MacCarthy (Omananda Puri)|Maud MacCarthy Mann}} began using the term ''microtone'' to describe [[Indian]] sruti intervals that were smaller than a semitone, to differentiate them from [[quartertone]]s. | Sometime before 1900, composer [[Julián Carrillo|Julián Carrillo Trujillo]] performed experiments on a violin string, using a razor blade to achieve very precise intervals smaller than a [[semitone]], which he called ''microtono''. Over a decade later, the music theorist {{w|Maud MacCarthy (Omananda Puri)|Maud MacCarthy Mann}} began using the term ''microtone'' to describe [[Indian]] sruti intervals that were smaller than a semitone, to differentiate them from [[quartertone]]s. | ||
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See [[:Category:People|Category: People]] for a list of people involved in microtonality or xenharmonics. | See [[:Category:People|Category: People]] for a list of people involved in microtonality or xenharmonics. | ||
{{Todo|expand|inline=true}} | |||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
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== External links == | == External links == | ||
* [https://untwelve.org/what What is microtonal music? What is xenharmonic music] by [[Margo Schulter]], on [[UnTwelve]]'s website | * [https://untwelve.org/what ''What is microtonal music? What is xenharmonic music?''] by [[Margo Schulter]], on [[UnTwelve]]'s website | ||
[[Category:Overview]] | [[Category:Overview]] | ||