36 solfeggio tones

Image courtesy of Bob Phillips.

The following two musical experiments are based on the above hex-arrangement of solfeggio tonality, something based off of the 81 Lo Shu tones mentioned in a previous post.  These études, if-you-will, are a continuation of my initial compositional explorations with this temperament.

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creation, impermanence and improvisation

Impermanence means that as something comes into being, it has already started to decay.

Improvisation exists only for the moment in which it is birthed.  The context and scenario that it exists in is perpetually temporary, fleeting without any notice or foresight – an instant manifestation.  Composition and improvisation are of the same: the former exists in time, the latter over time.  The results are similar: temporary music for a temporary moment.  Through time and space perception changes and a new moment arises.

 “When I make a work, I often take it to the very edge of its collapse.  And that’s a very beautiful balance…”
Andy Goldsworthy

Embracing decay means respecting the very nature of creation.  Below, sand mandalas are swept away immediately upon their completion as a salute to the laws of impermanence.  Creation as a cyclical process:

In this video, Tibetan Monks painstakingly spend five days placing tiny grains of sand to create a work of temporary art. On the sixth day they scoop up the sand and pour it into a body of water, releasing the energy of the project back into the community.

Thoughts:

Sound, like sand is transient in nature.  Recording is the craft of capturing a moment of sound.

With the invention of the phonograph in 1877, humans were armed with the ability to document sound.  But how permanent can it be?  Media decays and memories evolve; some define our experience while others drift away.

Listening to a record heard 5 years ago does not sound the same if you listen to it today.  I used to think that it was the music that changed, but now I realize it’s the listener who changes.  Things are not meant to be kept forever.

A piece is part of a greater whole infinitely in flux.  Molecules are always vibrating.  It makes sense that artists commonly refer to their work as a piece in recognition of the impermanence of their creation.  The work is a piece of the world it shares.  Complex systems are comprised of many simple parts.

The Rubin Museum of Art

photography by Ed Berger

I’m very excited to be performing at the Rubin Museum on Friday, August 5th at 7pm.

This performance will feature new music inspired by Himalayan artwork.  The band will be exploring the theme of impermanence while composing new pieces for improvisation.  It will surely be a special performance, one of which I am honored to present.

modern solfeggio tonality

Inspiration:
“If you only knew the magnificence of the 3, 6 and 9, then you would have the key to the universe.”
– Nikola Tesla

Description:
The numbers 3, 6 and 9 have ancient, numerological application.  For example, 3 can symbolize two opposing extremes with a point of balance in between, and the numbers 6 & 9 govern the I-Ching’s Yin-Yang dynamism, but this is only scratching the surface.  If you wish to take the plunge, consider immersing yourself with the Lo Shu tones.

One way of incorporating this idea will be the use of specific frequencies that have a ‘digit sum’ of 3, 6 or 9, just like those in Gregorian ‘solfeggio’ tones:

UT – 396 Hz
RE – 417 Hz
MI – 528 Hz
FA – 639 Hz
SOL – 741 Hz
LA – 852 Hz

Example:
Consider the syllable “FA” which cycles at 639 Hz:  6 + 3 + 9 = 18, and  1 + 8 = 9.
Thus the ‘digit sum’ of 639 is 9.

Here is a scale created with the following set of 81 lo-shu tones as shown in Hz:

111,123,135,147,159,162,174,186,198
219,222,234,246,258,261,273,285,297
318,321,333,345,357,369,372,384,396
417,429,432,444,456,468,471,483,495
516,528,531,543,555,567,579,582,594
615,627,639,642,654,666,678,681,693
714,726,738,741,753,765,777,789,792
813,825,837,849,852,864,876,888,891
912,924,936,948,951,963,975,987,999

The following audio clip represents my first attempt at composing using only pitches from this scale:

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Much of melodic expressionism lies in the ‘notes between the notes’ so-to-speak, and this scale is one specific way of exploring such a practice.  Weighing in at a little over three octaves, its intervals resonate with unique harmonic characteristics unheard in 12-tone equal temperament.  These 81 tones are a ‘geometrically-coherent, crystalline structure’ ripe for harvest.  There is much to explore in composition.

The technical how-to:

This scale was fabricated digitally with the help of the software CSE (Custom Scale Editor) which can be used separately or in conjunction with Scala.  If you’re looking to get involved with MIDI microtunings, I recommend to skip the elaborate process of installing Scala and simply use CSE to save time and potential frustration.  CSE is all you need to create and/or perform custom tonalities.  Its author, Aaron Hunt at H-Pi Instruments was hugely helpful in getting this little experiment off the ground.

nancarrow improvisation II

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After a long hiatus, I’ve delved into more of Conlon Nancarrow‘s work for player piano.  Inspired by an excerpt from Study No. 33, I’ve programmed a drum set improvisation to its rhythm.  Consider this track a long awaited sequel to this one which prompted Nancarrow expert Kyle Gann to post about it here.  The drum sounds are from my personal collection and seem to compliment the rawness of Nancarrow’s piano quite nicely.

For years, evidently, he [Conlon Nancarrow] lived on practically nothing but coffee… It’s silly, I know, but sometimes when his music takes on a particular nervousness or intensity, I can’t help thinking of Conlon diligently roasting, grinding and drinking his coffee. Perhaps Nancarrow’s stomach is as “rugged” as his music! Now, despite being on doctor’s orders, he remains unrepentant: “I have no regrets. Do it while you’re young, and can!”
-Peter Garland, 1979

Read more about this work at the Greenleaf Music Blog.