Microtonal scales to geek out to

[splitnotes]

I wanted to see what music could exist on the crossroads between microtonal scales and unusual time signatures. Particularly electronic dance-influenced music.

Here's what I came up with...

There's a bit of an ambient influence in there too. I'm just a sucker for spacy pads.

This was primarily made using two synths: Xen-Arts' Xenharmonic FMTS (can't recommend it enough really) and u-he's ACE (it is ace).

Any feedback would be very appreciated... I feel like a beginner every day.

Cheers KVR

[seismic1]

I think it works pretty well. I'm always apprehensive about listening to microtonal stuff as it can sound extremely unsettling. I've listened to the first 5 tracks on here and found it to be quite accessible, with some nice melodic touches and some interesting grooves.

Nice work

[splitnotes]

Thanks for checking it out, Seismic! I know what you mean about microtonal music. Microtonal music can be and do anything in terms of mood - which I think is why people who want to make unsettling music flock to it. What I've found is that there's this area between normal and unsettling (let's call it 'exotic') which can be really listenable.

Cheers again

[Laguna Rising]

I'm always in for all the experimental stuff (microtonal included).
The result you got is a positive surprise. Truly enjoyable: many original/unusual melodies and atmospheres.

Cheers

[Sendy]

Got as far as The Entity Unmasked and that's definitely my favourite so far. There's some gorgeous intervals in there. May I ask what scale(s) you're using? These have a great vibe, not overproduced and overthought and the minimalism and ambience work well together with the complexity.

I had a go at some piano music in 13 and 15 ET, and I incorporate stretched octaves and the harmonic scale into my 12-TET music. It can be very difficult but SO rewarding when it goes right. I don't think many people who get into microtonal want to produce a discordant cacophony - the real treasure is always at the edge of chaos but not in the middle of it.

[splitnotes]

Thanks for checking it out and getting in touch, Laguna Rising and Sendy.

Sendy, the scales are:
1. Carlos Alpha (9 equal divisions of the perfect fifth)
2. Harmonic scale + 1-tet
3. 17-tet + 1.3.7.9.11.15 eikosany
4. Some phi-based scale (I forgot)
5. A tetrachordal scale with superparticular intervals (10/9 11/9 4/3 3/2 5/3 11/6 2/1)
6. Mavila[7]
7. 14-tet
8. Mavila[9]
9. 17-tet
10. 17-tet

Nice one on working with 13-tet. It's a beast of a scale to control but it can work so well. I like how you can play familiar scales melodically which just miss the octave - while the harmony is completely different. And the whole-tone scale repeats every two octaves too.

As for 15-tet, did you try the mode where you skip out every 3rd step? It's a 10 note scale where every pitch can be the root of either a major or minor triad or seventh. And the order of the triads goes major, minor, major, minor, major, minor, etc... So anywhere you start or end could be considered the tonic, because it's so symmetrical. Good for endless-staircase (but still tonal) progressions.

Been listening to your soundcloud as I type this. Many a catchy ditty, good selection!

Cheers

[Sendy]

To be honest, I created the scale by simply adding extra keyfollow pitch modulation, and adjusted it until the right interval (on the keyboard) was roughly an octave. I can't remember if it was 13 or 15 or what, I'll have to dig it up. I did a couple like this using a piano sound. One was on my soundcloud a while ago but I had to delete it to make room for more stuff (I spend all my money on making music )

If you're in the mood for something microtonal, there's a sketch in this file:

http://soundcloud.com/sendy/2006-scrapbook

Several sketches there of unfinished tracks, the microtonal one starts at 2:10. Again it's an ET one but I forget how many per octave it was.

I really want to try some irregular tunings (you're clearly more knowledgable about the choices in this department) but I keep putting it off because it's hard to get all my instruments to agree or even participate in microtones. There are certainly times when 12TET really starts to grate and I long for things like key colours again.

12TET is really a paradox in that finally you can travel everywhere in the musical world (i.e. any key), yet suddenly every place becomes the same place .

BTW, there's an American composer who creates amazing microtonal music for computer emulations of real instrumentation, I think he lives in New York, he had some of the most tonally coherent and vivid microtonal music I've ever heard. I wish I could remember his name...

[PurpleCatfishBettie]

this sort of thing almost invariably leaves me not knowing what to think/feel... except that i want to experience more of it. it's as though it comes from some undefined place (at least in a 'western context')... and such a space demands further exploration.

kudos!

[D.H. Miltz]

This is good. I'd forgotten I downloaded it, but found it last night and listened to it and enjoyed it so much I listened to it again immediately. Like Sendy I'm especially fond of The Entity Unmasked. Thanks for this, it's a keeper.