What is microtonal music: Difference between revisions

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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 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' ==

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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 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' ==