Here’s another study in wet tuning, the practice of slightly detuning two pitches to give a richer sound. It’s often used in accordions. Here, I detune double melody strings on a chord zither. As in the diatonic study, I offer two possibilities.
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Study in wet tuning (chromatic)
June 13th, 2022 · Comments Off on Study in wet tuning (chromatic)
Study in wet tuning (diatonic)
June 6th, 2022 · Comments Off on Study in wet tuning (diatonic)
Wet tuning is the practice of slightly detuning two pitches to give a richer sound. It’s often used in accordions. Here, I detune double melody strings on a chord zither. And I offer two possibilities.
Interlude in C
May 29th, 2022 · 2 Comments
This interlude uses five pitches around middle C: 250, 255, 260, 265, and 27o Hz. I retuned a chord zither, but a digital keyboard would also work.
Music for Two Monochords: Sixes and Sevens
May 15th, 2022 · 2 Comments
Two monochords play a duet: one plays segments of the string that are divisible by six, the other segments that are divisible by seven. All ends harmoniously on 84.
Melody in A
May 10th, 2022 · Comments Off on Melody in A
Seven pitches are used: 410, 420, 430, 440, 450, 460, and 470 Hz. I retuned a chord zither, but a digital keyboard would also work. Here’s the first page:
Gegenschein
April 24th, 2022 · Comments Off on Gegenschein
A quiet sonic glimmer for glockenspiel or vibraphone and piano, dodecaphonic but not exactly serial.
“Music From Elsewhere” at the Minneapolis Institute of Art
February 13th, 2022 · Comments Off on “Music From Elsewhere” at the Minneapolis Institute of Art
I’ll be presenting my concert/talk on “Music From Elsewhere: the music of spirits, fairies, aliens, and other questionable beings” at the Minneapolis Institute of Art on February 20. It’s in conjunction with the show “Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art,” curated by Robert Cozzolino, which runs from February 19 to May 15. The program […]
It All Went Pfft
January 31st, 2022 · 2 Comments
My new album, It All Went Pfft, is now available on Bandcamp! It includes 20 songs, plus the eponymous piano piece. The selections are: 1. Oh Dear, Oh Dear 2. Let’s Not Leave the House Anymore 3. Laughter 4. A Different Point of View 5. A Few Essential Principles 6. Bread and Honey 7. Get […]
A Slot Machine for Wooden Nickels
January 10th, 2022 · Comments Off on A Slot Machine for Wooden Nickels
“A Slot Machine for Wooden Nickels” is a set of seven pieces for either keyboard or violin and ‘cello. Each is 49 measures long, divided in different ways; the first is 7 x 7, the second 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10, the third 10 + 10 + […]
Scuttles of Petals
December 28th, 2021 · 2 Comments
“Scuttles of Petals” was written by assigning letters of the alphabet to the top 26 pitches of the keyboard, and then spelling the names of flowers, yielding pitches that follow linguistic, rather than common-practice, patterns. The names go from 13 to 4 letters, a sequence that is repeated three times. The first set is: chrysanthemum, […]