Primer for 19edo: Difference between revisions

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Often times in music theory, a scale will be spelled out by its degrees instead of by letters. For example, the major scale is "1 2 3 4 5 6 7." Now 1 is whichever note you use as a root or "tonic" note, and the rest of the scale follows a formula. This is useful for communicating musical ideas without having to specify the key of the song. So, C major is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7, or Gb major is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7, or any major scale is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7.

The major scale can be mapped out mentally as whole and half steps: WWHWWWH. In 12edo H is one quantum (the minimum distance between tones) and W is two. In 19edo, H is two quanta and W is three. In more complex tuning systems, one has to be more careful to account for the fact that the whole steps and half steps can vary in size between intervals, but not in 19edo; a half step is always two minimum steps (keys or buttons or frets, etc.), and a whole step is three.

== Other Scales ==

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Saturated augmented: 1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7

The ~~two~~ examples above could not be spelled out in 12edo with distinct notes as they can in 19edo.

Lydian Whole Diminished: 1 2 b3 #4 b5 b6 bb7

The three examples above could not be spelled out in 12edo with distinct notes as they can in 19edo.

== Chords ==

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C major chord is spelled C E G (letters) or 1 3 5 (degrees), in either 12edo or 19edo. C minor chord is spelled C Eb G or 1 b3 5. But again, some new chords are possible in 19edo that would be problematic in 12edo, because 19edo has some new intervals.

The strongest example of this is the third. In 12edo, there are major thirds and minor thirds. A diminished third sounds exactly the same as a suspended second in 12edo, so that sort of chord is never going to define its own sound. But in 19edo, you can play a diminished third chord 1 bb3 5. You can also use augmented thirds in 19edo.

The strongest example of this is the third. In 12edo, there are major thirds and minor thirds. A diminished third sounds exactly the same as a suspended second in 12edo, so that sort of chord is never going to define its own sound. But in 19edo, you can play a diminished third chord 1 bb3 5 (notated as Cdim3). You can also use augmented thirds in 19edo (for example C E# G, would be Caug3). You could diminish or augment the third and the fifth: Caugaug3 = C E# G# (1 #3 #5), C°dim3 = C Ebb Gb Bbb (1 bb3 b5 bb7). These spellings would be nonsense in 12edo, although they are certainly not the most consonant-sounding chords, even as an extended set, so they should be used sparingly.

Following in the tradition of 12edo, chord names and roman numeral notation can be exactly the same as it is in classical musical analysis.

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== Harmonies ==

The biggest strength of 19edo is its major and minor thirds (or sixths, if you look at inversions) being closer to just intonation than 12edo. Simple melodies in the major and minor scales with harmonies in thirds or sixths should sound fantastic to anyone able to notice the slight sourness of harmonies in 12edo.

The fifth is a little flatter in 19edo than it is in 12edo, which is audible to the trained ear and perhaps, even if the beats are not audible to the untrained ear, the loss of consonance might still be "felt" or perceived on a level of lower consciousness by casual listeners. De-emphasizing the fifth and relying more on harmonies of thirds and sixths is advisable in composition, but laying heavily into less-consonant intervals can also be used for effect to intentionally unsettle the listener.

Add9 chords can be both strong and weak. An add9 chord, such as Cmajadd9 ("C major add nine"), spelled 1 3 5 9 or, in this case C E G D, benefits from a more consonant third, but also contains a flatter fifth and an over-corrected (sharper) ninth, so the chord, although it sounds generally consonant, can sound very foreign to listeners fully conditioned to 12edo tonalities.

More complex harmonies are possible in 19edo than are available in 12edo, by the nature of the extended option palette of intervals, but most are quite difficult for a beginner to use. It would be recommended to start out looking at 19edo as an alternative version of 12edo, at first, and then add some experimentation as the composer begins to get comfortable with the nuances of the tuning system. Although any rule of thumb in music, generally speaking, is just begging to be dashed apart by a good counter-example.

== Serialism ==

One of the more advanced compositional tools in 12edo is "12-tone serialism." In order to avoid an obvious tonal center in a piece, each of the twelve tones are used once per series. A phrase could consist of one or more series of twelve notes. These notes do not need to appear in the same octave or adjacent octaves, but each note (i.e., Ab A A# B C C#, etc) is to only appear once per series.

This tool can be used in any tuning system with a set number of discrete tones per defined interval. For example, in Bohlen-Pierce, there are 13 tones per perfect twelfth. The technique can still be used. In a continuous tuning system, the technique cannot be used. But in 19edo, the technique can be used similarly to how it is used in 12edo.

Each of the nineteen notes (i.e., Ab A A# Bb B Cb C C# Db D D# etc.) is to be used once per 19-note series. The octave of the note and the duration can be whatever the composer chooses.

An example of 19-tone serialism is given in "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTpF2MifP5Y Brain for Breakfast]" by Bostjan Zupancic.

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 Often times in music theory, a scale will be spelled out by its degrees instead of by letters.  For example, the major scale is "1 2 3 4 5 6 7."  Now 1 is whichever note you use as a root or "tonic" note, and the rest of the scale follows a formula.  This is useful for communicating musical ideas without having to specify the key of the song.  So, C major is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7, or Gb major is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7, or any major scale is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7.
+The major scale can be mapped out mentally as whole and half steps: WWHWWWH.  In 12edo H is one quantum (the minimum distance between tones) and W is two.  In 19edo, H is two quanta and W is three.  In more complex tuning systems, one has to be more careful to account for the fact that the whole steps and half steps can vary in size between intervals, but not in 19edo; a half step is always two minimum steps (keys or buttons or frets, etc.), and a whole step is three.
 == Other Scales ==
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 Saturated augmented: 1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7
-The two examples above could not be spelled out in 12edo with distinct notes as they can in 19edo.
+Lydian Whole Diminished: 1 2 b3 #4 b5 b6 bb7
+The three examples above could not be spelled out in 12edo with distinct notes as they can in 19edo.
 == Chords ==
@@ Line 378: / Line 382: @@
 C major chord is spelled C E G (letters) or 1 3 5 (degrees), in either 12edo or 19edo.  C minor chord is spelled C Eb G or 1 b3 5.  But again, some new chords are possible in 19edo that would be problematic in 12edo, because 19edo has some new intervals.
-The strongest example of this is the third.  In 12edo, there are major thirds and minor thirds.  A diminished third sounds exactly the same as a suspended second in 12edo, so that sort of chord is never going to define its own sound.  But in 19edo, you can play a diminished third chord 1 bb3 5.  You can also use augmented thirds in 19edo.
+The strongest example of this is the third.  In 12edo, there are major thirds and minor thirds.  A diminished third sounds exactly the same as a suspended second in 12edo, so that sort of chord is never going to define its own sound.  But in 19edo, you can play a diminished third chord 1 bb3 5 (notated as Cdim3).  You can also use augmented thirds in 19edo (for example C E# G, would be Caug3).  You could diminish or augment the third and the fifth: Caugaug3 = C E# G# (1 #3 #5), C°dim3 = C Ebb Gb Bbb (1 bb3 b5 bb7).  These spellings would be nonsense in 12edo, although they are certainly not the most consonant-sounding chords, even as an extended set, so they should be used sparingly.
 Following in the tradition of 12edo, chord names and roman numeral notation can be exactly the same as it is in classical musical analysis.
@@ Line 559: / Line 563: @@
 == Harmonies ==
 The biggest strength of 19edo is its major and minor thirds (or sixths, if you look at inversions) being closer to just intonation than 12edo.  Simple melodies in the major and minor scales with harmonies in thirds or sixths should sound fantastic to anyone able to notice the slight sourness of harmonies in 12edo.
+The fifth is a little flatter in 19edo than it is in 12edo, which is audible to the trained ear and perhaps, even if the beats are not audible to the untrained ear, the loss of consonance might still be "felt" or perceived on a level of lower consciousness by casual listeners.  De-emphasizing the fifth and relying more on harmonies of thirds and sixths is advisable in composition, but laying heavily into less-consonant intervals can also be used for effect to intentionally unsettle the listener.
+Add9 chords can be both strong and weak.  An add9 chord, such as Cmajadd9 ("C major add nine"), spelled 1 3 5 9 or, in this case C E G D, benefits from a more consonant third, but also contains a flatter fifth and an over-corrected (sharper) ninth, so the chord, although it sounds generally consonant, can sound very foreign to listeners fully conditioned to 12edo tonalities.
+More complex harmonies are possible in 19edo than are available in 12edo, by the nature of the extended option palette of intervals, but most are quite difficult for a beginner to use.  It would be recommended to start out looking at 19edo as an alternative version of 12edo, at first, and then add some experimentation as the composer begins to get comfortable with the nuances of the tuning system.  Although any rule of thumb in music, generally speaking, is just begging to be dashed apart by a good counter-example.
+== Serialism ==
+One of the more advanced compositional tools in 12edo is "12-tone serialism."  In order to avoid an obvious tonal center in a piece, each of the twelve tones are used once per series.  A phrase could consist of one or more series of twelve notes.  These notes do not need to appear in the same octave or adjacent octaves, but each note (i.e., Ab A A# B C C#, etc) is to only appear once per series.
+This tool can be used in any tuning system with a set number of discrete tones per defined interval.  For example, in Bohlen-Pierce, there are 13 tones per perfect twelfth.  The technique can still be used.  In a continuous tuning system, the technique cannot be used.  But in 19edo, the technique can be used similarly to how it is used in 12edo.
+Each of the nineteen notes (i.e., Ab A A# Bb B Cb C C# Db D D# etc.) is to be used once per 19-note series.  The octave of the note and the duration can be whatever the composer chooses.
+An example of 19-tone serialism is given in "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTpF2MifP5Y Brain for Breakfast]" by Bostjan Zupancic.