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astroid-ratio etude #1
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StoreTags: figured, fucking, i, it, out
Author: astroid on September 13 2006
--> this short little song, kept simple so as to highlight the ideas, has tones which are determined by the ratios of the frequencies, not some stupid logarithmic 12th root of 2 formula. you may not be able to hear the difference in the first four chords, but it gets more obvious as the piece develops.

it was rendered on my g2 all one pass.

the process for composing was a little convoluted:

each oscillator has a "central tone" equal to 1:1. there's one pitch modulator which multiplies the numerator, and one which multiplies the denominator, so each midi lane in protools had to have two notes for one tone, centered around c3 (corresponding to 1:1). this level of complexity insured that i'd go for simple things first.

i was tempted to do some pieces which rendered the ratio chords next to the 12-tet chords, but i thought that might be pedantic, even for me.

i'm sure i'll have to explain what the fuck i'm talking about, so here's a head start:

the notes on our piano approximate the vibrations in a harmonic series, but not exactly. in the interest of modulation, all the rage from 1600-1960, the natural system of overtones was gradually forced into a geometric shape which is highly abstract from nature. the natural series uses the simplest of fractions, and the modulatory system uses a logarithm. the reason was simplicity in instrument building-it's easier to use 12 equidistant notes than it is to worry about what ratio one pitch has from another-and what that means for harmony.

composers started to chip away at this over the years by adding more notes to the symmetrical scale-19, 31, 72, 171 notes were some of the favorites. all of these scales are still approximations. if you have heard a barbershop quartet, a really good one, and maybe have tried to copy the chords on a guitar or piano, you'll have noticed that the chords don't "buzz" right-that's because the singers will tend to correct their pitch to the ratios.

so for this, the system was set up, and then i composed by ear. it's possible to get much more subtlety from the system, but i've only used it for a couple days. i think eventually, the 12tet system will fall by the wayside, and composers will learn to use this.
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Comments

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09/13/06 +  celibacyclub
maybe we will just have to start saying raapie instead, to avoid banishment.
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09/13/06 +  astroid
who are you guys gonna grape, anyway?
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edited: Sep 13 2006 +  celibacyclub
if you have to ask... you of course, with your damn etudes.

;) this is interesting but its no song, its kinda a haha ive got a new trick,. which is ok. but now pls put this trick to use in a way we can appreciate.

eidt: also honorable mr astroid, ive got a new song-y too, and it needs help. your help. its called cleanest buffer transmission
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09/13/06 +  Squeal
I had this friend at school that was always jabbering about just intonation. That is what this is, right? Anyway I had never heard it before today. So thanks.

Now correct me if I'm wrong here. With the differences in frequencies being nonuniform like you say, transposition becomes tricky. In EM it's not a big deal, but it seems that if you made a piano with this tuning scheme you could only play it in one key.
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09/13/06 +  astroid
celibacyclub said: "if you have to ask... you of course, with your damn etudes.

;) this is interesting but its no song, its kinda a haha ive got a new trick,. which is ok. but now pls put this trick to use in a way we can appreciate.

eidt: also honorable mr astroid, ive got a new song-y too, and it needs help. your help. its called cleanest buffer transmission"


i'm gonna have to make a bunch of etudes using this stuff before i can compose anything bigger with it. i think it might be a preludes and fugues type deal, next. that'll take a while, tho.

i'm gonna check your tune, but i didn't bring headphones to the brary today.
Recent blogs: thank you, wetf, 2 new things in my life  

09/13/06 +  fakeBlooper
THIS ROCKS MY ROCKS.

develop it more.

the fact it's based on ratios, not numbers... like celestial mechanics.
Recent blogs: mobo alert sequencer, if you see a spider, squash it, omnichord madness  

edited: Sep 13 2006 +  astroid
Squeal said: "I had this friend at school that was always jabbering about just intonation. That is what this is, right? Anyway I had never heard it before today. So thanks.

Now correct me if I'm wrong here. With the differences in frequencies being nonuniform like you say, transposition becomes tricky. In EM it's not a big deal, but it seems that if you made a piano with this tuning scheme you could only play it in one key."


it is kind of like just intonation, same intervals, different layout.
the big problem is with insturment building. in the physical world, there's a lot more to worry about than just pitch ratios. when you listen to someone like harry partch, you see the truth of ratio tuning-the "one key" is such a broad area, that it supports a lot of modulation, much more than one key on a normal piano. so, it's more like the key area is so broad that you don't need to play it in more than one key.

edit: ok, that last sentence is a typically overgeneral and useless contention for me. what i meant is that, as i've been playing with this tuning, i've heard everything a basic classical composer would want-it doesn't have 12 repetitions for every harmonic object, instead there are what sound like fractal copies of different harmonic complexes-things which are similar but twisted a little bit, always reflecting the centrality of the home key. this blows my puny mind.
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09/13/06 +  astroid
and thanks fakeBLooper
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09/13/06 +  SoMuch
which ratios were u using?

09/13/06 +  mlbot
i ahve no idea what you are talking about.
But I found this enjoyable.
Maybe its the layers of pitches that makes it easier for me to "comprehend" than, say, if it was a series of tones.
I dunno.
Needs a bigger beat, though, i can't dance to it.
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09/13/06 +  mlbot
PS, astroid is the new Fredo
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09/13/06 +  astroid
mlbot said: "
Maybe its the layers of pitches that makes it easier for me to "comprehend" than, say, if it was a series of tones.
"


me too. my memory isn't accurate enough to hear if something is that perfectly in tune or not. but when you stack three/four things on top of of each other, i can hear the fusion very well.
Recent blogs: thank you, wetf, 2 new things in my life  

09/13/06 +  astroid
SoMuch said: "which ratios were u using?"


the first chord is "major", so it's all 3:4:5 ratios. the rest, nothing higher than multiplying by 10/dividing by 10. i really just set up the system and then didn't pay attention.

you can't "hear" the difference until the end. if you want some kind of proof, grab the second to last chord, the one that sounds like a dominant 7th chord, and then listen to it next to a d7 chord you make. the one i made doesn't have any "turbluence" in it. your shoddy 12tet one will. the rest of those "dissonant" chords at the end, they're not turbulent at all compared to what they would be in 12tet. a major triad in 12tet beats all over the place. this is what they should sound like.

your antagonism only strengthens my resolve.
Recent blogs: thank you, wetf, 2 new things in my life  

09/13/06 +  Artsigreg
Stanley Kubrick type synth sound in the beginning, nice. Those synth accent- stabs sound too loud when they come in though. After that, the beat is highly creative and fun destruction, I like it. About structure, it does seem a bit indulgent at times… but I’m really feeling the creativity and rhythms here.
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09/13/06 +  Artsigreg
Hyden's "Surprise" Symphony portrays his love for practical jokes, loud *wake the f- up notes)which he had quite a reputation for, hehe.
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