midi notes and frequencies

Here is a reference table listing all MIDI note numbers and names, complete with corresponding frequency values (in Hz), in 12-tone equal temperament.

lo shu or ‘solfeggio’ tonality templates

Here are the template files I use in order to create the experimental tonal system using the 3-digit Lo Shu or “solfeggio” number series as illustrated in the above image (courtesy of Bob Philips).  For all related posts, click here.

Once again, these numbers are interpreted as frequencies in Hz, and are inspired by the following threads.  Although these numeric concepts are rather ancient, the frequencies themselves are not.

The 81 Lo Shu Tones within the 729 Fabric and;
The Sacred Solfeggio Megathread

I used Custom Scale Editor (CSE) for creating these scales.  The 81-tone and the 36-tone scales are mapped “chromatically”, that is, linearly across the keyboard.

CSE allows an export of a .txt file in order to use the scale within a Kontakt patch for tuning sample-based virtual instruments. It also generates an Absynth .gly file for tuning synth patches.  CSE comes with good documentation on how to import these files into the various virtual instruments.  You can also tell CSE to capture MIDI data live from a controller and route it to any sound source.  It is also possible to export a Scala .scl file with a .kbm keyboard map file so that you can work with these pitches directly in Scala. I’ve included all these mentioned file types in this download for your convenience.

If you are using Kontakt:
Kontakt outputs an error when a MIDI note is set to “OFF” in CSE, therefore I have only re-tuned the keyboard maps starting on MIDI note 24 for the 36-tone scale; and MIDI note 21 for the 81-tone scale. Therefore, I have left the notes above and below the scale ‘as is’ at 12-tone equal temperament in these scripts, so please know that you can still play these ‘extra’ notes, but they are not part of the Lo Shu pitch set.  Also, any release samples have not been scripted for re-tuning in Kontakt (see this thread), so you might need to mute those particular samples, if applicable in your patch.

After much experimentation, I have concluded that by using the DAW Reaper will greatly assist you in composing with this pitch set.  I say this primarily because Reaper allows users to input, import and export custom MIDI note names directly onto the piano roll, which adds a very useful visual reference.  In the download, I have also included a text file so you can import these values onto Reaper’s MIDI editor easily.

They are not perfect, but they do work!  And I hope it serves you well :) Enjoy.

Download: The Lo Shu Tonality Templates

arpeggiators and DAWs

Ever need to export an MIDI arpeggiator’s output?  Each piece of software does this in their own special way.  In Reason, right-click the RPG-8 device in order to print “Arpeggiator Notes to Track” which is very clear, fast and simple.  In Abelton Live, route the output of the arpeggiated MIDI track into a new MIDI track via a virtual MIDI bus, thus recording the processed MIDI information into the timeline.  In Logic this is also possible, but it requires routing the MIDI outs to the sequencer input in the Environment window and requires recording the information in real-time (see video below).  If you have many minutes or hours of arpeggiation to print, try a quick work-around and temporarily increase the session’s tempo to something extreme such as 1000bpm to speed up the internal MIDI recording.

Below is a quick video demonstrating Logic’s routing in Environment.  Sadly, I wish Pro Tools had a MIDI plugin for arpeggiation.

Hat Tip to Jeremy Viner for the Logic demo.

Also be sure to check out Hypercyclic, a AU, VST and standalone LFO MIDI arpeggiator with some additional functionality not commonly found within DAWs.

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 this thread on Lo Shu.

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 ‘solfeggio’:

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

Example:
For instance FA = 639:  6 + 3 + 9 = 18, and  1 + 8 = 9.
Therefore the ‘digit sum’ of 639 is 9.

UPDATE!!  There is some confusion online as to what is ancient and what is modern in respect to this system.  What we know for sure is that the ancients did not have any devices for measuring or producing pitches in absolute cycles-per-second values (i.e. they did not have any digital computers).  As such, these pitches are a modern, absolute and experimental translation of this numeric series into Hz or cycles-per-second values and therefore could not have been sonically available to the ancients.  That being said, there are also many traditional musical characteristics that can be found within this system.

Here is a scale created with the following set of 81 Lo-Shu tones within the 729 fabric:

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 (111, 222, 444 and 888), 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.  To download my template files, click here.

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.