Iceface tuning
Ice-face tuning is a method of performing quarter tones on a standard piano or harp by tuning the black notes or accidentals 50 cents higher than normal. The result is an uneven 12-tone scale that consists of the formula: LsLsMLsLsLM where the L consists of 150 cents, the M of 100 cents, and the s of 50 cents. The scale may be referred to as Ice-face[12] and consists of three sizes of tones. It can be notated as:
C Dd D Ed E F Gd G Ad A Bd B C.
The idea of Ice-face came from Hidekazu Wakabayashi in a dream he had. Wakabayashi claimed that he saw a woman playing a piano that was presumably tuned in the same way that Ice-face[12] is tuned.
"Iced" is a way to refer to a neutral interval to describe the quality it has. Unlike "neutral", iced sounds much less ambiguous and gives the impression that it has a distinct quality rather than just sticking it between major and minor as neutral intervals sound like neither major or minor but in fact sound unique.
Tuning in Scala format:
! Iceface.scl
!
Iceface Tuning (all back keys a quartertone up), by Hidekazu Wakabayashi
12
!
150.00000
200.00000
350.00000
400.00000
500.00000
650.00000
700.00000
850.00000
900.00000
1050.00000
1100.00000
2/1The scale can be thought of as Mohajira[7] superimposed over a diatonic major scale. >Take for example, C major C D E F G A B C, and combine it with the Mohajira[7] mode "Iced Major" C D Ed F G Ad Bd C. This gives a scale of C D Ed E F G Ad A Bd B C, a 10-element subset of Iceface[12] as described above.
Iceface[12] contains 2 separate Mohajira[7] pitch class sets, one "Iced Major" mode starting on C (C D Ed F G Ad Bd C) and one on Ad (Ad Bd C Dd Ed F G Ad).
Iceface is related to the Arabic Maqam system, including 9 popular Jins, allowing the creation of multiple Maqamat, including Rast on C and Bayati on A. Those Jins are Ajam on C and G, Ajam Murassa on F, Nahawand on D and A, Rast on C and G, Bayati on D and A, Kurd on E and B, Lami on B, Sikah on Ed and Bd, and Musta’ar on Ad.
Generalization
A way to generalize Iceface to EDO systems besides 24edo would be starting with the linear diatonic scale of the given temperament for the white keys, and for the black keys, using the note a parachromatic quartertone (usually representing 33/32) beneath the next highest white key, or in other words, black keys should be a white key flattened by half of a pythagorean chromatic semitone. In 31edo, this would be:
! 31IceFace.scl
!
31edo Generalized Iceface Tuning
12
!
154.84000
193.55000
348.39000
387.10000
503.23000
658.06000
696.77000
851.61000
890.32000
1045.16000
1083.87000
2/1Music
- I love you, but I love you (Iceface tuned piano) by Hidekazu Wakabayashi
- Papers on the Ground by Hidekazu Wakabayashi
- Lucid Fairy Tale by Hidekazu Wakabayashi
- Iceface Invention by JyuneticA ("icefaced" by H. Wakabayashi)
- The Iceface Way by Hidekazu Wakabayashi
- Iceface Tuned Guitar by Hidekazu Wakabayashi
- Sweet and Microtonal by Hidekazu Wakabayashi