Xenharmony
Encyclopedia
Xenharmonic is a term used to describe tuning
systems, or music
using those systems, which does not conform to or closely approximate the common 12-tone equal temperament. The term was coined by Ivor Darreg
, from xenia
(Greek
ξενία), hospitable, and xenos
(Greek
ξένος) foreign. He famously stated: "This writer has proposed the term xenharmonic for music, melodies, scales, harmonies, instruments, and tuning-systems which do not sound like the 12-tone-equal temperament."
The term is meant to include tunings such as 5- and 7-tone equal temperament, which are perhaps excluded under "microtonal" rubric, since their intervals are larger than those of 12-ET
. The term "microtonal" may have also been seen as too restrictive in that it was strongly associated with the quartertone movement, and with composers like Julian Carrillo
, who only worked in equal temperaments that were multiples of 12. Darreg was among the first to argue that any equal temperament could be a valid source of musical materials.
Tunings derived from the overtones of physical objects with an inharmonic overtone series such as rods, prongs, plates, discs, spheroids and rocks are sometimes used as the basis of xenharmonic exploration. William Sethares
is a pioneer in this area.
The Non-Pythagorean scale
utilized by Robert Schneider
of The Apples in Stereo
, based on a sequence of logarithms, may also be considered xenharmonic.
's purposefully "out of tune" sampler based music uses non systematic tunings that may be considered xenharmonic. Other composers of xenharmonic music include Elodie Lauten
, Wendy Carlos
, Ivor Darreg
, and many others.
Musical tuning
In music, there are two common meanings for tuning:* Tuning practice, the act of tuning an instrument or voice.* Tuning systems, the various systems of pitches used to tune an instrument, and their theoretical bases.-Tuning practice:...
systems, or music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
using those systems, which does not conform to or closely approximate the common 12-tone equal temperament. The term was coined by Ivor Darreg
Ivor Darreg
Ivor Darreg was a leading proponent of and composer of microtonal or "xenharmonic" music. He also created a series of experimental musical instruments.Darreg, a contemporary of Harry Partch and a close colleague of John H...
, from xenia
Xenia (Greek)
Xenia is the Greek concept of hospitality, or generosity and courtesy shown to those who are far from home. It is often translated as "guest-friendship" because the rituals of hospitality created and expressed a reciprocal relationship between guest and host.The Greek god Zeus sometimes referred...
(Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
ξενία), hospitable, and xenos
Xenos (Greek)
Xenos is a word used in the Greek language from Homer onwards that has a wide gradient of meaning, signifying such divergent concepts as “enemy stranger” as well as “ritual friend”.- Meanings :...
(Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
ξένος) foreign. He famously stated: "This writer has proposed the term xenharmonic for music, melodies, scales, harmonies, instruments, and tuning-systems which do not sound like the 12-tone-equal temperament."
The term is meant to include tunings such as 5- and 7-tone equal temperament, which are perhaps excluded under "microtonal" rubric, since their intervals are larger than those of 12-ET
Equal temperament
An equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning, in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. As pitch is perceived roughly as the logarithm of frequency, this means that the perceived "distance" from every note to its nearest neighbor is the same for...
. The term "microtonal" may have also been seen as too restrictive in that it was strongly associated with the quartertone movement, and with composers like Julian Carrillo
Julián Carrillo
Julián Carrillo Trujillo was a Mexican composer, conductor, violinist and music theorist, famous for developing a theory of microtonal music which he dubbed "The Thirteenth Sound" .-Biography:...
, who only worked in equal temperaments that were multiples of 12. Darreg was among the first to argue that any equal temperament could be a valid source of musical materials.
Xenharmonic tunings
Any scale or tuning other than 12-tone equal temperament can be used to create xenharmonic music. This includes other equal divisions of the octave and scales based on extended just intonation.Tunings derived from the overtones of physical objects with an inharmonic overtone series such as rods, prongs, plates, discs, spheroids and rocks are sometimes used as the basis of xenharmonic exploration. William Sethares
William Sethares
William A. Sethares is an American music theorist and professor of Electrical engineering and who is known primarily for his contributions to music theory, including dynamic tonality and a formalization of the source of consonance....
is a pioneer in this area.
The Non-Pythagorean scale
Non-Pythagorean scale
The Non-Pythagorean scale is a musical scale first conceived and developed by Robert Schneider of The Apples in Stereo. It is based on natural logarithms...
utilized by Robert Schneider
Robert Schneider
Robert Peter Schneider is one of the co-founders of The Elephant 6 Recording Company, along with Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss, and Jeff Mangum...
of The Apples in Stereo
The Apples in Stereo
The Apples in Stereo, styled The Apples in stereo, is an American indie rock band associated with The Elephant Six Collective, a group of bands also including Neutral Milk Hotel and The Olivia Tremor Control. The band is largely a product of lead vocalist/guitarist Robert Schneider, who writes the...
, based on a sequence of logarithms, may also be considered xenharmonic.
Xenharmonic composers
Annie GosfieldAnnie Gosfield
Annie Gosfield is a New York composer who specializes in using detuned or out of tune samples and industrial noises. Her work often contains improvisation and frequently uses extended techniques and/or altered musical instruments...
's purposefully "out of tune" sampler based music uses non systematic tunings that may be considered xenharmonic. Other composers of xenharmonic music include Elodie Lauten
Elodie Lauten
Elodie Lauten is a composer described as postminimalist or a microtonalist.-Biography:Born in Paris, France, Lauten was classically trained as a pianist since age 7. She received a Master's in composition from New York University where she studied Western composition with Dinu Ghezzo and Indian...
, Wendy Carlos
Wendy Carlos
Wendy Carlos is an American composer and electronic musician. Carlos first came to notice in the late 1960s with recordings made on the Moog synthesizer, then a relatively new and unknown instrument; most notable were LPs of synthesized Bach and the soundtrack for Stanley Kubrick's film A...
, Ivor Darreg
Ivor Darreg
Ivor Darreg was a leading proponent of and composer of microtonal or "xenharmonic" music. He also created a series of experimental musical instruments.Darreg, a contemporary of Harry Partch and a close colleague of John H...
, and many others.
Further reading
- Sethares, William (2004) Tuning, Timbre, Spectrum, Scale. ISBN 3-540-76173-X.
See also
- Just intonationJust intonationIn music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequencies of notes are related by ratios of small whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval. The two notes in any just interval are members of the same harmonic series...
- Microtonality
- Bohlen–Pierce scale
- Regular temperamentRegular temperamentRegular temperament is any tempered system of musical tuning such that each frequency ratio is obtainable as a product of powers of a finite number of generators, or generating frequency ratios...
External links
- Microtonality - Web in spanish
- Microtonal music on CD
- Homepage for William Sethares
- xenharmonic wiki on wikispacesWikispacesWikispaces is a hosting service based in San Francisco, California. Launched in March 2005, Wikispaces is owned by Tangient LLC and is among the largest wiki hosts, competing with PBworks, Wetpaint, Wikia, and Google Sites .Private wikis with advanced features for businesses, non-profits and...
- Xenharmonic Alliance
- Barbieri, Patrizio. Enharmonic instruments and music, 1470-1900. (2008) Latina, Il Levante Libreria Editrice