Microtonal music: Difference between revisions

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== 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.

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=== Debates and usage ===

==== Xenharmonic ====

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".

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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. 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.

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 could 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. Such that one can speak of a piece being “more xen”, “less xen”, “very xen”, etc.

==== Microtonal ====

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+{{Interwiki
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+| en = Microtonal music
+| es = Xenarmónico
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 {{Wikipedia}}
 {{Wikipedia|Xenharmonic music}}
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 == 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.
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 === Debates and usage ===
 ==== Xenharmonic ====
-{{see also|User:Nick Vuci/Xenharmonics}}
+{{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".
@@ Line 21: / Line 27: @@
 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. 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.
+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 could 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. Such that one can speak of a piece being “more xen”, “less xen”, “very xen”, etc.
 ==== Microtonal ====