WARNING
I compose microtonal music strictly by ear and leave it to others to analyze, so you won’t find ratios or mathematics here. I reserve my left brain for building keyboards and chaos music. ;-)
BACKGROUND
Much of the music I compose is microtonal or macrotonal, meaning that it contains more, or less, than the usual 12 notes per octave. When performing microtonal music with my band ZIA over the years, the reaction of our general audience is usually the same. They don’t realize it’s microtonal, nor do they necessarily know what “microtonal” means. Rather, they might notice that the music has a different “flavor” -- and it’s not vanilla.
I was introduced to the idea of microtonal music in 1990 at Berklee College of Music in Boston, when one fine day in Electronic Music Composition class, Dr. Boulanger surprised us by performing and singing his piece, Solemn Song for Evening, which he composed in the Bohlen-Pierce Scale. My hair stood on end as the alien notes washed over me. The notes were from outer space, yet it was still music. Wonderful music!
From then onward I was dedicated to writing mostly microtonal music. One of my earliest pieces was Stick Men, also in the Bohlen-Pierce Scale.
I had the pleasure of watching Dr B perform Solemn Song again, 20 years later, at the first Bohlen-Pierce Symposium in Boston. He performs it on the Radio Baton, invented by Max Mathews.
In 2000, while at NYU, I wrote a research paper on the Bohlen-Pierce Scale. I’m currently developing hexagonal keyboard layouts for different equal temperaments, building custom Vertical Piano keyboards (for sale!), and composing.
I stay in touch with other microtonalists on the Xenharmonic Alliance site.
WHAT THE HECK IS MICROTONALITY?
You might want to read Wikipedia: Microtonal Music -----> Microtonalism in rock music :)
Simply put, microtonality is music that contains more, or less, than the usual 12 notes per octave. I prefer to use only equal tempered tunings, meaning that each step in the scale is the same musical interval.
After hearing 12 tone music for so many years, it can be quite refreshing (or torturous, depending on the person) to be immersed in a new tonality.
MY THREE FAVORITE TUNINGS
Below are some music samples in my three favorite tunings, plus hexagon and piano-style keyboards that I’ve developed for each tuning. As you listen, see how long it takes for your ears to “tune-in”. Does each tuning sound like a different “flavor”? I would love to hear your feedback.
THE BOHLEN-PIERCE SCALE
listen -----> Love Song (2007, Elaine Walker) | Love Song (2008, live performance by 17 Tone Piano Project. Thanks guys!) | Stick Men (1992, ZIA, v1.5 CD) | I Know of No Geometry (Dr. Richard Boulanger) | Bohlen-Pierce Minus 1 (Carlo Serafini) | More!
| C-Thru Music lent me one of their sonome keyboards, called the AXIS, for a few months, and I rearranged the keys for the Bohlen-Pierce Scale. This particular AXIS toured with the Lionel Richie Band on loan, went to me, and then it went to my former professor, Dr. Boulanger, in the Synthesis Department of Berklee College of Music. I now have another one and am experimenting with layouts and chords for other tunings. | AXIS FOR BOHLEN-PIERCE SCALE 11 Videos | Play All |
 | BOHLEN-PIERCE SCALE, LAMBDA MODE (Lambda is most people’s BP mode of choice, and the keyboards look very tidy.)  |
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listen -----> Champagne (2010, ZIA, unreleased) | Sol (1992, ZIA, v1.5 CD) | Future (1995, ZIA, SHEM CD) | Future (1993, D.D.T., Discomedia) | Evolution (1993, D.D.T., Discomedia) | Vivid (1993, D.D.T., Discomedia)
 | 10 NOTES PER OCTAVE (I figured this out by ear, but later saw a dissonance curve and it matches. We can enjoy the same 12-tone-sounding letter names in this tuning!)  |  |
listen -----> Golden (2000, ZIA, Big Bang CD) | Resolution (2000, ZIA, Big Bang CD) | Hand Held (1995, ZIA, SHEM CD) | Cover of Madonna's Vogue (1993, D.D.T., Discomedia)
You might want to read: Wikipedia 19tet
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listen -----> 17 Tone Piano Project (mostly 17 tone music, and other tunings as well)
I have yet to compose music in 17tet, but I have played around with it, and designed the piano keyboard layout pictured above. I have no idea if anyone else has come up with the same keyboard for 17tet unequal, but I assume so. It seems closely related to 19tet, as far as what the actual piano keyboard might look like. I imagine that anyone who has played around with 19tet would arrive at the same piano design as I did. And going from 19 to 17 only involved removing the E#/Fb key. Of course, the pitches of each of the keys are all slightly different in 19tet and 17tet.
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listen -----> Humans and Martian Machines (2000, Elaine Walker, MARS CD)
The Golden Ratio Tuning was the result of a school assignment in Composition class at NYU, which I had in 2000 during my Masters studies in Music Technology. The assignment was simply to write a piece of music utilizing the Golden Ratio in some way. This is the only unequal temperament I have ever used, and for that matter, I only wrote one piece with it!
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<----- ZIA uses six Drum Kats. Click here to learn about them!