Doug Skinner: An Archive on Your Gizmo

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Entries Tagged as '*Music'

Casting Pearls Before Oysters

June 20th, 2022 · Comments Off on Casting Pearls Before Oysters

A brooding piece for bass recorder and piano.

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Tags: *Music · C

Study in wet tuning (chromatic)

June 13th, 2022 · Comments Off on Study in wet tuning (chromatic)

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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Tags: *Music · S

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.  

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Tags: *Music · S

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.

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Tags: *Music · I

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.

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Tags: *Music · M

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:

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Tags: *Music · M

Gegenschein

April 24th, 2022 · Comments Off on Gegenschein

A quiet sonic glimmer for glockenspiel or vibraphone and piano, dodecaphonic but not exactly serial.

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Tags: *Music · G

“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 […]

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Tags: *Music · M

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 […]

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Tags: *Music · I

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 + […]

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Tags: *Music · S