I’m not sure I really understood this assignment, so I followed the instructions (I hope) and kept it simple. I used the calculator shown to create three tracks in Audacity, based on a 3 minute mono sine wave of 440hz
I made them stereo just because I like working with stereo tracks.
I cut this mix in half. The first three ‘pure’ tones are staggered – 440 to 1:45, the second (sorry, I forgot to record the exact hz of the variants) from 0:07 to 1:52, the third from 0:17 to 2:02
The second half of the mix was fed through Convoluter on a random setting: this fades in at 1:00 and fades at 2:15. It was also separately treated with Soundscaper 2 on a random setting: this fades in at 0:30 and out at 2:15
From 1:45 to 1:53 is a sequence made by taking a one-second cut of the three microtones at full strength, pitching it down a quarter tone over that 1 second, then cloning it 48 times, putting it through delay and dropping it an octave over that time.
The last 25 seconds of the Soundscaped track is also duplicated at one octave lower. This adds bass but also affects the high frequencies of both treated tracks.
After listening to this, you may noticed that your hearing is significantly altered for about a minute – everything sounds hollow and ‘phased’, similar to the Flanger effect, somewhat like listening down a long tube. Subsequently named in honour of that effect. :)
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The Assignment: Bring to the fore the distinction between two specific microtones.
Background: There’s a typo in the bible of microtones. The bible in question is Alain Danielou’s 1958 book Tableau Comparatif des Intervalles Musicaux. As reported recently by composer and critic Kyle Gann, “On the right-hand bottom corner of page 48, the interval listed as 569/512 should actually be 567/512.” We’re going to explore the sonic distinction between those two microtones.
Step 1: Choose a pitch and record three things: (a) a base pitch, (b) the mistaken microtone (569/512), and (c) the correct microtone (567/512). Here’s an example: Start with your base pitch (e.g., A440). To get the mistaken microtone, multiply the base pitch frequency by 567/512 (that is, raise the base pitch by one semitone plus 77.6 cents). To get the corrected microtone, multiply the base pitch by 569/512 (that is, one semitone plus 82.7 cents). For reference, here’s a handy conversion tool:
http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-centsratio.htm
Step 2: Record a short piece of music employing the three tones (a, b, and c) from Step 1. Other tones are also welcome, certainly. The only request is that the emphasis in your piece should be on those three tones. The goal of the short piece should be to explore the distinction between the mistaken and correct microtones. Try this: Imagine someone reading about the errata in the Danielou book said, “What’s the big deal?” Your piece should, to the extent possible, answer that question in sound by shedding light on the gap between the two microtones.
More on this 214th weekly Disquiet Junto project (“The Assignment: Bring to the fore the distinction between two specific microtones”) at:
http://disquiet.com/0214
Join the Disquiet Junto at:
http://soundcloud.com/groups/disquiet-junto/
