User:Nick Vuci
Intro
Hi! I'm an amateur composer from Toronto, Canada. I discovered microtonality when I was 16 in 2006/7 when my composition instructor showed me the harmonic series justification for common practice harmony ala Rameau, which led me to discover Harry Partch and the old Yahoo mail lists (mostly MMM and Tuning) which I occasionally lurked until they ended. The main tunings I focus on are the Harmonic Series, 24-EDO, 16-EDO, and world scales, and my main inspirations and influences are the standard Western repertoire (especially Palestrina, Buxtehude, Bach, Mozart, and Chopin), Harry Partch, and my more minor influences are Disney music, Balkan folk music, and First Nations drumming (especially Cree and Ojibwe). Though I was trained in violin and piano, I've also spent time studying the erhu and making instruments for the purposes of microtonal composition. Currently I exclusively play retuned electronic keyboards.
Music
Here's a selection of music I've written, mostly in the past year. Though I have written many works over my life, I haven't kept track of many. Even collecting these pieces from the last 6 months required some sleuthing (lol).
Harmonic Series
My most commonly used system is Mode 32 of the Harmonic Series, as it provides a good approximation of 12-EDO as well as being a conceptually simple and powerful overtone scale. As such it has been the most common tuning of my keyboard for many years.
Trio for 12-EDO Bass, Guitar, and Harmonic Series Keyboard
This is the earliest music file I can currently find and it dates from 2016. It was written as a mock up for two of my friends with the intention that we would play it together (them on guitar and bass and me on keyboard tuned to Mode 32). However due to conflicting personal obligations (mostly from me) it was never played live.
Harmonic Series Soundbath
This work arose from my own desires as a listener. I wanted a minimalistic piece that I could listen to over and over again but which would change a bit each time. Since I'm not smart enough to make one of those ever-changing algorithmic compositions I settled with a fairly simple concept: a series of short pieces that flow into each other, the order of which can be changed randomly without losing any cohesion. The pieces are all organized in an AB form reminiscent of a prelude and fugue with an improvisatory section followed by a strict section, with both sections focusing on the same basic motif. I often put this work on shuffle and repeat and just chill with it in the background. It can be heard on Spotify or Apple Music, among other streaming platforms.
Works in my favourite scale
My favourite scale is something that I've come to call the 4567 Cross-Set Scale (this name was suggested to me by members of the Xenharmonic Alliance Discord, and the term Cross-Set as applied to scales is apparently the invention of Praveen Venkataramana). It's essentially a 4:5:6:7 chord built on each note of a 4:5:6:7 chord. Here are some pieces in this scale:
16-EDO
The majority of music I've made in 16-EDO is in the Mavila[7] scale, and also uses a 16NEJI/128 instead of just 16-EDO. However, I do have one piece that is purely based on 16-EDO with no reference to Mavila at all. It's the following EDM piece, which is actually based on a tone row that uses all pitches AND all intervals of 16-EDO.
Mavila[7]
Modal Studies
Here are 7 studies in each mode of Mavila[7]. The studies are each composed of a melody with triadic accompaniment.
Mavila Dubstep Experiments
I'm not really into EDM or dubstep, but one time I was doing regular long drives with someone who listened to dubstep and it rubbed off on me leading to these 4 tracks being made. I never really did any mixing or mastering before this, and it's something I still need to work on if I ever pursue this type of music again.