Microtonal Music
1.0 Introduction
Throughout this essay I will look into the theory of microtonal music, it's traditional contexts as well as modern composers of that style. I will also discuss the issues associated with microtonality, and the likely sustainability of the style.
2.0 What is Microtonality
According to the Grove Dictionary Online (2006), a microtone is any musical interval that is smaller than a semitone. Some writers also believe the term can be used to describe music which adheres to a tuning system that is different to the logarithmic Equal Temperament scale. Therefore, playing the 12 part Just Intonation scale would be considered microtonal, given that some of the intervals used would actually be smaller than those in the tempered scale. Similarly, scales of Asia that are divided into fewer than 12 parts can also be considered microtonal. (Griffiths, et al. 2006)
3.0 Historical Contexts
Although a relatively new phenomena in western music – there seems to be few references to composers before the 1900’s using this technique – microtonality has been an integral part in the traditional music of other cultures. Before western music became dominated by the church modes and equal temperament, Greek music used an enharmonic scale system constructed of intervals smaller than semi-tones. (Slonimsky, 1994, p.1148)
It is also common understanding that classical Indian music also consists of microtones. The octave is divided into 22 pitches, known as sruti. However these pitches are not to be confused with the svara, a collection of seven pitches (eight including the octave) which are the closest Indian equivalent to the pitches in the western scale. It is the svara that are used to create the scale itself, and the microtonal sruti, are used mostly in ornamentation. In south Indian music the term sruti may also denote the pitch of the drone. (Widdess, 2006)
Czech folk music is another example or microtonality in a traditional music context. In fact, it was by accompanying these singers at folk festivals that popular microtonal composer Alois Haba first came into contact with these alternative tunings. Haba says,"When we played for village festivals it often happened that folk singers used intervals different from the tempered scale." (Slonimsky, 1994, p.1148)
4.0 Recent Composers of Microtonality
Prior to Alois Habas experiments with microtonality in the early 1900’s, there have been few western composers who have worked with alternative tunings. Haba himself approached microtonality with a desire to add more ‘colour’ to his music, using quarter and sixth tones in conjunction with the semi-tone scale, not in place of it. The resulting music had a heightened sense of expressiveness. (Vyslouvi, 2006)
Charles Ives was another composer, known largely for his appreciation of atonality in music, who sought out alternative intonations for his music. One of his works, Symphony No.4, was written for, among other instruments, two pianos tuned a quartertone apart. The work was not played in its entirety until 1965, 50 years after it was written. Despite this, it has been accepted as being one of his greatest works. (Wikipedia, 2006)
More recently American composer Harry Partch experimented with microtones, splitting the octave and building his own instruments in order to play this music. His main reasons for departing from the Equal Tempered scale was the lack of consonance he felt when listening to it.(Schwartz, 2006, p.209) He pioneered microphony, the splitting of the octave into 43 unequal parts based in Just Intonation. (Wood, 1986, p.328)
Alois Haba (Gregorova, 2005)
Charles Ives (State of Connecticut, 2006)
5.0 The Challenges of Microtonality
There are a few select reasons why one might want to compose microtonal music. Some composers, like Haba, wish to add colour to their music by using intervals that the western ear is not accustomed to. Others like Partch, want to try to reconcile with Just Intonation, to allow for a deeper, harmonic resonance in the music. (Griffiths, et.al, 2006) There are other instances where musicians may purposely detune their instruments to accommodate for an unusual acoustic environment, where certain pitches may be masked because of ambient noise, or attenuated, producing inconsistances in volume or resonance. They may also wish to deviate from concert pitch in order to find a frequency that makes the instrument "sing". (Benade, 1976, pp. 299-230)
However, there are some negatives when composing in microtonal intervals also. One of the major dilemmas is harmonic dissonance between intervals, particularly when microtones are simply added to the Equal Tempered scale. This does not seem to be such a problem when the scale is closer to the naturally occurring Just Intonation. (Griffiths, Lindley & Zannos, 2006)
Notating microtones became an extra task for the composer also, as there was not traditional way of notation intervals between semi-tones. Some used numbers to represent deviations from the semi-tone system. Others used graphic alterations of the existing accidental markers to achieve this. But as there are no fixed microtonal values, there is no accurate way of notating every possible accidental that may be played in every piece of music.
Finding instruments to play microtonal music also challenged the composers. Many built their own instruments to accommodate microtones. They also used the few existing traditional instruments that could easily play microtones, like strings and voices. Changing technique also allowed musicians to play in between the semi-tone, as in the case of alternate fingerings for clarinet.
6.0 The Future of Microtonal Music
In his article Microtonality: Aesthetics and Practicality (1986, p.328) James Wood laments that acoustic microtonal music seems not to have taken off. Rather electronic instruments have dominated contemporary microtonal music, perhaps for their sheer ease and accuracy of programming.
Even given this, most microtonal electronic works seem to be exclusively experimental and don’t really make it into the mainstream or even art music world. Searching for microtonality on Wikipedia turns up a list of “Recent Microtonal Composers” with the latest example being Adam Silverman in 1973.
Going out on a limb, I would suggest that a general acceptance of microtonal music would require a change in society. A proliferation of microtonal music would allow for our ears to retune to these new scales, so they wouldn’t seem so foreign to our ears. However, as Wood suggests, the potential of microtonality “…has never been fully realised.” (1986, p.328) I personally find it hard to believe that microtonality will completely disappear from art music, given that there is still much to explore and perfect in this musical style.
7.0 Conclusion
Throughout this essay I examined the meaning of microtonal music according to Grove Music Online, as well as the historical uses in ancient Greece, modern India and Czech folk music. I also looked briefly at three composers of the style, and how the issues of microtonality can be overcome. I lastly looked at the sustainability of the style, and made suggestions as to whether or not microtonality will persevere into the future.
8.0 Bibliography
Benade, A. (1976) Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics: Second, Revised Edition, Canada: General Publishing Company Ltd.
Gregorova, P. (2005) “Alois Haba” retrieved July 27, 2006 from http://www.radio.cz/fr/article/64703
Griffiths, P., Lindley, M. and Zannos, I. (2006) ‘Microtones’, Grove Music Online retrieved August 1, 2006, from http://www.grovemusic.com.ezp02.library.qut.edu.au/shared/views/article.html?from=search&session_search_id=423841059&hitnum=1§ion=music.18616&authstatuscode=200
Schwartz, E. (ed), Childs, B. (ed) (1998) Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music: Expanded Edition, New York: Da Capo Press
Slonimsky, N. (1994) Music Since 1900: Fifth Edition, USA: Macmillan Publishing Company.
State of Connecticut (2006) “The State Composer: Charles Ives” retrieved July 27, 2006 from http://www.ct.gov/ctportal/cwp/view.asp?a=885&q=246486
Widdess, R. (2006) ‘Sruti’ Grove Music Online retrieved August 1, 2006 from http://www.grovemusic.com.ezp02.library.qut.edu.au/shared/views/article.html?from=search&session_search_id=67161887&hitnum=1§ion=music.48149
Wikipedia (2006) “Symphony No.4” retrieved August 7, 2006 from http://www.grovemusic.com.ezp02.library.qut.edu.au/shared/views/article.html?from=search&session_search_id=419625245&hitnum=1§ion=music.12113
Wood, J. (1986) Microtonality: Aesthetics and Practicality, Musical Times Publications Ltd.
Vyslouzil, J. (2006) “Alois Haba” Grove Music Online retrieved August 7, 2006, from http://www.grovemusic.com.ezp02.library.qut.edu.au/shared/views/article.html?from=search&session_search_id=419625245&hitnum=1§ion=music.12113
Resources
More Resources
- Huygen's-Fokker Foundation:Music (This is a great site full of mp3s, midi files and even Ogg Vorbis music files from composers like Julian Carrillo, Adriaan Fokker and Alois Haba. All files download and play on the university computers if you're having trouble accessing them at home.)
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