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Microtonal music is music using microtones -- intervals of less than the semitone, or when Charles Ives put it, the "notes between the cracks" of the piano. A term is too wont to refer to any music whose tuning is not according to half step, like american just intonation, Indonesian gamelan music and Indian classical music. An guide term explicitly covering such possibilities is xenharmonic music.

A Italian Renaissance composer and theorizer Nicola Vicentino (1511-1576) [http://www.hoasm.org/IVO/Vicentino.html ] experimented by using microintervals & built for instance a keyboard with 36 keys to the octave, called the arcicembalo. Still Vicentino's experiments were primarily motivated by his search (when he saw it) on the ancient Greek genera, and by his want to stand acoustically pure intervals available in chromatic compositions.

A few American composers have at times embraced a use of microtonal scales, dividing an octave into 19, Twenty-four, 31, 43, 72 & more many pitches, rather than a additional park Dozen. A intervals between pitches may be compeer, creating an equal temperament, or unequal, like within just intonation or linear temperament.

Pioneers of modern American microtonal music include: Charles Ives (U.S., 1874-1954) Julián Carrillo (Mexico, 1875-1965) look [http://paginas.tol.itesm.mx/campus/L00280370/carrillo.html here] or [http://paginas.tol.itesm.mx/campus/L00280370/julian.html here] (mostly Spanish however occasionally English as well) Béla Bartók (Hungary, 1881-1945) George Enescu (Romania, 1881-1955) (in Oedipe to suggest a enharmonic genus of ancient Greek music) Alois Hába (Czechoslovakia, 1893-1973) Ivan Wyschnegradsky (U.S.S.R. (Russia), 1893-1979) Harry Partch (1901-1974) Eivind Groven (1901-1977) Henk Badings (1907-1987) Giacinto Scelsi (1915-1982) Lou Harrison (1917-2003) Tui St. George Tucker (1924-2004) Ben Johnston (b. 1926) Sofia Gubaidulina (b. 1931) Alvin Lucier (b. 1931) Easley Blackwood (born 1933) James Tenney (b. 1934) Terry Riley (b. 1935) La Monte Young (b. 1935) Wendy Carlos (b. 1939)

Extra recent composers composing microtonal music include: Glenn Branca (b. 1948) David First (b. 1953) Kyle Gann (b. 1955) Kraig Grady (b. 1952) Johnny Reinhard (b. 1956) Joe Monzo (b. 1962)

Microtonal scales that come played contiguously come chromatically microtonal, people which are then non have a various contiguous pitches when guide versions of big intervals (Burns, 1999).

Microtonalism in rock music
A Western hardcore punk band Black Flag (1976-86) made interesting vulgar utilise of microtonal intervals, via guitar player Greg Ginn, a free jazz aficionado also acquainted modern definitive. (When you took their peak in the late '70s & early '80s, yearn prior to Our contries punk was mainstream, the b& was considered, non unwarrantedly, the thuggish and hostile street unit, although period has given their act a considerable measure of musical acclamation.) The worthwhile song is "Damaged II," from either 1981's Damaged LP -- the survive-inside-studio recording where designed have of quarter- & eighth-steps suggests the guitar within danger of detonation. A second is "Rise Above," from either the equivalent album, which finishes by having the cadence played a quarter-tone sharp, to similar result.

More rock creative person applying microtonality in their operate include Glenn Branca (world health organization has created the total of symphonious works for ensembles of microtonally tuned electrical guitars) & Jon & Brad Catler (who play microtonal electric guitar & electric bass guitar).

Source
Burns, Edward M. (1999). "Intervals, Scales, and Tuning", A Psychological science of Music 2nd edition. Deutsch, Diana, ed. San Diego: Academic Click. ISBN 0122135644.

FreeNote Music: Microtonal Music & Microtonal Instruments
Microtonal instruments, recordings and books.

LucyScaleDevelopments-LucyTuning-John 'Longitude' Harrison
LucyTuning is a microtonal system derived from pi, and the writings of John 'Longitude' Harrison.

Natural Temperament
Argues that the 34-tone equal-temperament scale is the most "natural" equal-temperament scale with fewer than 53 tones.

American Festival of Microtonal Music
The AFMM produces and commissions works which use pitches and musical scales which are not organized in the standard twelve tone to the octave equally tempered way.

List of Microtonal Music on CD
Excellent discography of microtonal / xenharmonic / non-12 tone music (CD only). Contains addresses for record labels, and links to the artists (when available).

R.L. Reid
Notes on microtonal composition, with sound files and an introduction to the 43 tone scale.

John Starrett's Microtonal Music Page
Microtonal music page with large list of composers, mp3, WAV, MIDI, and Real Audio files of microtonal music.






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