This is a final version of the piece I’ve been working on lately. As with several recent works, this one takes six notes at a time out of a 10-note scale based on the undertone series. Here is a small chart that shows the pitches and ratios used and the order of the changes. The accidentals are in the Sagittal font.
The six notes chosen are two triads. The first one in the first row is a just B flat major, played at the same time as a just C minor. This is a very consonant combinations, almost too sweet. The instruments play a melody and chords based on those two triads. The rhythm is 9/8 then 4.5/8, which is what makes the tempo sort of bouncy. After playing in the first key (Bb major, C minor), it moves to the next one in the series, a just G minor combined with sort of an A flat neutral with a messed up 5th. It gets worse from there. Eventually it comes back to the beginning, and then repeats the cycle two more times. It’s the same basic melody and harmony in each chord, but the notes change with each change of key. Sometimes it sounds sweet, other times more challenging to the ear. Here is the full ten note scale, as I approximate it in 72-EDO:
The instruments are trumpet, trombone, french horn, cello, and tuba playing the melody, and bassoon, clarinet, oboe, and flute on the harmony, with a rhythm section composed of balloon and tube drums.
This is a work in progress. Today I modified the amplitude, octaves, tempos, and added a cello and tuba to the mix.
The point of my recent music is choosing from several six note combinations from a ten note undertone scale. Some are very easy on the ears, and some are challenging. See if you can tell which is which.
This is a work in progress. Adding a few more options for the melody. Now he can either trill, slide up, slide down, or play stacatto. More to come. And a few more keys.
This is a work in progress. I’m working on some ways to have each instrument play the melody slightly differently. They all have the general concept, but each is different in different ways. This is the first attempt. It’s very rough, but a good start beats no start, every day. Play it here
Play it here Here’s a final version of the piece I’ve been working on lately. It’s scored for bass finger piano and lots of Ernie Ball Super Slinky Guitar string samples. The tuning is taken from a mostly utonal scale, but only six notes at a time. Here’s the 10 notes in the scale, from which six note modes are pulled. The numbers across the top are the scale degrees out of the 10 available (actually only 10 in this case), and the next row is the 72-EDO note numbers.
And here are the six note chords that are used. The numbers to the left are the scale degrees out of the 10 available:
Notice that some of the ratios are conventional just major and minor triads. Others are much more xenharmonic. The Bb major and C minor are in the former category, sounding very consonant and easy on the ears. The B neutral and C supermajor are more challenging. When they come around, you know that something unusual is at work.
The piece steps through the chords in a progression twice, in the following order. Sometimes the chords are taken two at a time, sometimes only one. And sometimes they move from one to another in a slide.
One of the most attractive parts of this scale is the wide range of consonance to dissonance, from 12-tone-equal sound to xenharminoc. All from only 10 unique pitches.
The format of the piece is that I only change the six notes that are input to the process, and the randomizer picks the notes to play. For example, it can chose a chord that slides from the first chord to the second, in one of a number of inversions, or trills, or straight chords, or many other combinations. For example, the piece might call for the strings to play a chord, and slide to the next one:
I do that for all the keys. Then I just have to call the macro to set them all to the right notes.
&Bb-maj.
That sets &n1. to 2, &n2. to 3, &n4. to 7, and so forth. When it goes through the preprocessor, it resolves all that code into Csound input files. Full source code here:
This is a work in progress. Today’s installment includes many more types of chords. Very slippery notes. The chord changes are derived from the undertone scale I’ve been working with lately.
This is a work in progress. Today’s installment is my first attempt at a 60 second piece for the 60×60 untwelve mix. It’s scored for six guitars tuned to 72 EDO playing the a set of chords based on the undertone series. I’m just over 60 seconds at this point. Play it here
