User:Aura
I'm Aura- short for DaffodilAura, and I'm a native English speaker. For those of you who wish to find me on Discord, I'm daffodilaura. If you wish to address me by my real name, call me "Dawson", but let's keep that form of address to private messages unless my user nickname says otherwise. While I started my first mircotonal piece in 2014, I'm only just starting to get more serious about microtonality.
My response to the Progress Report...
What was your path to discovering alternate tunings?
I found microtuning while delving into the harmonic series, and I developed a particular fascination with the eleventh harmonic. So much so, that in 2014, I wrote the first version of my first microtonal piece in 24edo, "Folly of a Drunk", under the working title "Folly".
Notably, the first version of this piece featured a modulation from a microtonality-enhanced version of key of A- alternating between Major and Minor- to a microtonality-enhanced version of the key of G-Demisharp Minor, all by use of chords built on 24edo's versions of both the eleventh harmonic and the eleventh subharmonic.
What are your current/past/future particular interests?
One of my main interests in the area of xenharmonic music at present are focused on compositions involving both more harmonically pure versions of the thirty-five 12-EDO proper heptatonic modes, and, surprisingly, perfecting the art of using grave fifths and acute fourths in otherwise traditional-sounding music. Another main interest of mine is working with the 7-prime-limit and 11-prime-limit harmonies, though I'm not above messing with 13-prime-limit, 17-prime-limit and even 19-prime-limit harmonies. In addition to the aforementioned, I've since taken a shine to 159edo due to its near-perfect approximation of the 2.3.11 subgroup, and have worked on that particular page here rather extensively for a page on a mega-EDO. In the future, I'd like to take what I've learned and use it to further develop Treble-Down music- who says Bass-Up is the only direction to build chords and harmonies and melodies?
What instruments or means have you had/do you have now/do you want for the making of microtonal music?
So far, all I have is the composition software itself, but it would be great to have advanced synthesizers, vocals, and even instruments in the The New Violin Family available for performance. The only problem? Money... Go figure...
Any good microtonal anecdotes?
Finding and naming my first comma, the quartisma, on September 6th, 2020. This is something I remember rather fondly- especially since prior to me finding it and naming it, it was only mentioned on one page in this entire wiki. Of course, in the months since then, I named like four other other commas- the nexus comma, the Alpharabian comma, the Betarabian comma, and the symbiotic comma- I have to admit it's fun coming up with comma names, and to think there's so many of them yet to be named that it would make your head spin...
Ideas and Music Theory
Aura's Music Theory: Introduction
Aura's Ideas on Functional Harmony
Aura & Fumica's Guide to Diatonic Functional Harmony
Needs reorganizing:
EDO checking:
User:Aura/Archangelic EDO checks
User:Aura/Archangelic EDO checks (continued)
User:Aura/Miscellaneous EDO checks
Composition
I work with several genres of microtonal music, but I'll put my work in various categories here...
Experimental
Space Tour
This is a long song in a near-perfect approximation of 159edo and which contains retemperings of 12edo, 14edo, 17edo, 19edo, 22edo, 24edo, 27edo, 31edo, 35edo and 41edo, with a stretch in a near-perfect approximation of 53edo before using the full near-perfect 159edo approximation. There are other EDOs used and mimicked in the transitions.
This song has a story to go with it, and the story goes like this:
You pay to get on a spaceship to take a tour of some parts of space, and as you're getting ready, you imagine all the kinds of sights you'll see and that you'll have the experience of a lifetime, but after you arrive at the spaceport, you hear rumors about the company running the tour, and not the good kind. As you see many and various beautiful sights, ranging from nebulae, to strange planets and other things at different stops along the tour, and even take your share of pictures, you take time to reflect on what you'll tell your family back home about what you've seen. At the same time, you can't help but wonder about the rumors floating around. Eventually you overhear some of the staff talking about problems with the ship, and dissing the company for negligence. Sure enough, the ship is forced to turn around and head back to Earth, but as they arrive, suddenly, things start going wrong with the ship, and you're forced to get into an escape pod. After ejecting from the ship, your escape pod lands in the forest somewhere in Canada, and worse, the GPS on the escape pod that would otherwise alert rescuers to your position is busted, so you're effectively stranded. Eventually, however, you are found, and after a long string of interviews about your experience, you finally return home in one piece, but not without having had the experience of a lifetime and acquiring a mild case of PTSD.
As to which EDO is being used or mimicked where:
- 0:00-0:14 1edo
- 0:14-1:12 12edo
- 1:12-1:27 2edo
- 1:27-2:25 14edo
- 2:25-2:39 1edo
- 2:39-3:54 17edo
- 3:54-4:53 19edo
- 4:53-5:07 1edo
- 5:07-7:16 22edo
- 7:16-7:30 1edo
- 7:30-9:29 24edo
- 9:29-9:43 1edo
- 9:43-10:41 27edo
- 10:41-10:56 1edo
- 10:56-11:53 31edo
- 11:53-12:07 159edo; tonicization of note located roughly 11/8 above the original tonic
- 12:07-13:19 35edo
- 13:19-14:32 41edo
- 14:32-14:52 159edo; tonicization of note located roughly 224/135 above the original tonic
- 14:52-17:04 53edo
- 17:04-17:22 159edo; tonicization of original tonic
- 17:22-20:21 159edo; diatonic key with added 11/8, 13/8, and 55/32
Welcome to Dystopia
The original version of this song was a 12edo piece I wrote as part of the same collection as "Folly of a Drunk", however as I didn't have Audacity, or even a microphone back then, certain key elements were missing. It got its start from a riff that I started humming- that riff is the first element you hear in the beta version.
After I got Audacity, and learned more about microtonality, I eventually decided to remake the song, reinstrumenting a number of parts, removing most of the repetitious material and replacing it with generous additions involving new instruments, and adding multiple Xenharmonic modulations, the most frequently used of which being modulations upwards by 11/8 and or down by 16/11. I also added a few effects, and was also finally able to add the single vocal part that I had wanted to add almost from the beginning without having to speak it manually.
The Forest of Loss
The original version of this song was a 12edo piece I wrote as part of the same collection as the two videogame compositions below. I like to try and build loops into songs of this variety where possible for the sake of continuity.
After finishing "Welcome to Dystopia", I wanted to remake another song, so I selected this song. As I had previously scrapped most of the compositions from that collection, I had to re-download the Beta from the private Discord channel where I had previously shared it with a family member. From there, it was a matter of listening to it and re-learning the original notes and rhythms of the song and making a new, detuned version with more instruments in MuseScore 3. Of course, since this is still videogame music, there's still a loop built into the song, but a single iteration of the looped material now lasts roughly eight minutes. What's more, this new version is now entirely drenched in reverb.
Anticipation
Shortly after I joined the Wiki, I wrote and experimental song in 24edo, and it runs through 1edo, 2edo, 3edo, 4edo, 6edo and 8edo- though not in that order- before going to quartertone-enhanced traditional tonality in 24edo itself.
However, I would later go on to add reverb using Audacity.
Videogame Compositions
A pair of weird and creepy microtonal songs that are the remnants of my participation in the music composition for a videogame- don't worry, I still own the rights to these songs since I asked to have them back when my work relationship with the budding company fell through. If I recall correctly, both were written in an approximation of 94edo.
Hymns
Now, up until the time I've added this stuff to this page, not many people have suspected that I am in fact a devout Christian. Indeed, I have long kept silent as I have come to expect vitriol from many online, but nevertheless, since I have found people in this community who are interested, I figure it's time to share these...
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
File:A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Score).pdf
This hymn arrangement was written around Reformation Day of 2021, do note the usage of the eleventh harmonic, as well as the additional words in the transition sections... Also note that this hymn arrangement was made in 159edo, though the accidentals in the score are 24edo accidentals due to MuseScore 3 not supporting Syntonic-Rastmic Subchroma Notation.
God, You Love the Least of Us
File:God, You Love the Least of Us (Score).pdf
This is an original hymn written by me for the Church. Unfortunately, since I'm faced with same problem as above in the score, I'm forced to resort to the same solution.
Symphonies
Winterbright Symphony
File:Winterbright (Part 1) (score).pdf
File:Winterbright (Part 2) (score).pdf
File:Winterbright (Finale) (score).pdf
This symphony was written in 159edo over the course of late 2021 through 2022. It is a seven-movement symphony that tells a story, with an Overture, a Minuet & Trio, a Passacaglia, a Double Fugue, as well as two mini-movements- a Ponte and an Aspettativa- and, of course, the Finale.
Winterbright Overture (Sonatina)
Felix is born on Christmas day in a log cabin to Lutheran parents who have a dangerous job delivering letters and packages and stuff, and as a consequence, Felix spends a lot of time with his grandmother watching him at home, though he has an idyllic childhood despite all this. One day, while Felix is playing inside and a snowstorm rages, a messenger arrives at the home and informs the grandmother that Felix's parents have died in an accident brought on by that snowstorm, and when the grandmother tells Felix the bad news, his world comes crashing down- talk about childhood ruined.
Winterbright Realizzazione (Ponte)
Felix is forced to grow up and come to terms with what has happened, and he's forced to step up and become a man.
Winterbright Amore (Minuet & Trio)
One day, Felix ventures into Glendale, near his grandmother's home and he meets a girl named Emma. The two not only become fast friends, but soon fall in love, start dating, and get married. Eventually, Emma bears him a son named Emmett, but Felix, looking on as his wife takes care of Emmett during the night, and remembering how he didn't have a father figure in his life during his own teenage years, wonders how he's going to handle things when Emmett gets older and fears he may prove an inadequate father. Nevertheless, he's happy, and he loves his wife and child.
Winterbright Tragedia (Passacaglia)
Life goes on, but one day, Emma falls ill, and soon, she collapses dead- right in front of Felix. Felix is forced to break the news to his now five-year-old son. They have the funeral, and life goes on through highs and lows as Emmett grows up, but so far, Felix has managed based on the memories he has of his own father. However, once Emmett becomes a teenager, Felix's fears from years earlier are realized and he begins to make regrettable decisions in the area of discipline, and as a result, tensions begin to mount between the two of them. One day, when Emmett is fifteen years old, Felix and Emmett have a tense conversation, which soon erupts into an argument. The argument results in Emmett running away from home.
Winterbright Solitudine (Double Fugue)
After Emmett runs off, he doesn't return, leaving Felix alone. Felix, not wanting to be left alone with all the memories of his wife's death and his son's departure, makes preparations to sell his family home in Glendale. Remembering his youth spent in his parents' own log cabin, he builds himself a log cabin out in the country about a dozen or so miles to the northeast of Glendale, near another village, and, fantasizing about Emmett one day returning to him with a family of his own, he builds this log cabin to accommodate not only himself, but also the family he hopes his son will have when he returns. However, decades go by since Emmet's departure, and Emmet still doesn't return by the time he sells his old family home in Glendale, and Felix spends much of his time in solitude reflecting on the past.
Winterbright Preghiera (Aspettativa)
About a month before Christmas, Felix, now an old man and worn down not only by worry about his son, but worry about his own future, says a prayer one night before bedtime, asking God that he may be reunited with Emmett once again for Christmas.
Winterbright Finale (Sonata-Allegro)
After Felix says his prayer, life initially continues on mostly as it had been, only with Felix now wearing a mask of serenity to hide his inner sadness as he spends his days alone, although he still hopes his prayers will be answered.
On Christmas Eve of that year, Felix ventures into the village near his home- something he often did when he needed groceries- however, as he sees the shopping rush, he's more disinterested in all the hullabaloo than anything. But then, he hears word of a homeless family who has drifted into the village earlier that week. Intrigued, Felix seeks them out, and sure enough, he finds them- a patriarch, a matriarch, and several children who all seem to be down on their luck. Realizing that the family likely has no money for Christmas presents, Felix takes it upon himself to go to the shopping district and buy presents for the kids, and upon returning to the homeless family, presents the kids with their gifts, earning him the thanks of the homeless family's patriarch. Soon, a snowstorm rolls in, and worse, night is now approaching. Felix, wanting to see the family find somewhere safe to take shelter, decides to stick with the family and guide them to shelter, but the homeless family's patriarch replies that there's a church out to the northeast of the village where they have been staying, so the group all decide to go to the church. Night falls, and the snowstorm intensifies into a blizzard, causing Felix to remember the snowstorm which caused his parents' deaths and wonder if they're even going to make it to the church, to which the homeless family's patriarch replies that they're nearly there. Soon, the church is in sight, and after one final push, the group enter the church and shut the door behind them. Inside the church, the clergy take notice of the arrivals and the matriarch and children follow them deeper into the interior of the church. However, Felix and the patriarch remain in the sanctuary, and, after being supplied with a few necessities by the clergy a conversation ensues. At first, it's small talk, with both Felix and the patriarch being grateful to have made it to shelter, but soon, the conversation takes a turn, with Felix asking where the patriarch is from, to which the patriarch replies that he and his mother were both from Glendale. Felix tells the patriarch that his wife Emma was from Glendale also, to which the patriarch responds by saying that Emma was his mother's name. Felix notes that he doesn't remember another girl named Emma from Glendale, but realizes it's been so long that he might have forgotten a few details. Felix then asks what brought the family here, and to his surprise, the patriarch responds by saying that he's been looking for his father, and that he returned to his childhood home in Glendale only to find the home sold, and that he didn't know where to look next. Felix offers to help the patriarch find his father, but while he admits he doesn't remember everything at his old age, he offers up the possibility that hearing the patriarch's history might jog his memory. The patriarch then reveals that he ran away from home at age fifteen, much to the surprise of Felix, who then asks the patriarch about his father's name, only to hear his own name dropped in response, with the admission that the patriarch didn't know where his father was from. This prompts Felix to ask the patriach's name, to which the patriarch replies that his name is Emmett. With that, Felix has a moment of realization, and just to make sure, says his son's full name. The patriarch is left in stunned silence before finally saying "Dad?" to which Felix replies, "Yes... I think you've found him." After this revelation, the two begin the process of reconciliation, with Emmett revealing that he had been absolved of his sins by a priest, and that since he had received God's promise of the forgiveness of sins, he was now authorized to give that same promise, and that this is part of why he sought out Felix again in the first place. Emmett then gives the absolution to Felix, and Felix offers Emmett and his family the possibility of staying in his new home, which Emmett accepts. Felix's faith revives, and the spark from his youth returns to his eyes.
Emmett and his family have now moved in with Felix, and Felix is quite happy to begin attending church regularly. While both Felix and Emmett realize there's much lost time, they both are happy to have received a very good Christmas gift from the hand of God- each other.
Emmett and Felix are reminiscing one evening, and Emmett, now knowing his father's history, remarks that Felix has had an adventure of a life, to which Felix, says "indeed and I look forward to what's next", before heading off to bed.