Scratching the scale labyrinth

Milne, Andrew; Carle, Martin; Sethares, William A; Noll, Thomas and Holland, Simon (2011). Scratching the scale labyrinth. In: Agon, C. ed. Mathematics and Computation in Music. Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (6726). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, pp. 180–195.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21590-2_14

URL: http://www.springer.com/computer/information+syste...

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a new approach to computer-aided microtonal improvisation by combining methods for (1) interactive scale navigation, (2) real-time manipulation of musical patterns and (3) dynamical timbre adaption in solidarity with the respective scales. On the basis of the theory of well-formed scales we offer a visualization of the underlying combinatorial ramifications in terms of a scale labyrinth. This involves the selection of generic well-formed scales on a binary tree (based on the Stern-Brocot tree) as well as the choice of specific tunings through the specification of the sizes of a period (pseudo-octave) and a generator (pseudo-fifth), whose limits are constrained by the actual position on the tree. We also introduce a method to enable transformations among the modes of a chosen scale (generalized and refined “diatonic” and “chromatic” transpositions). To actually explore the scales and modes through the shaping and transformation of rhythmically and melodically interesting tone patterns, we propose a playing technique called Fourier Scratching. It is based on the manipulation of the “spectra” (DFT) of playing gestures on a sphere. The coordinates of these gestures affect score and performance parameters such as scale degree, loudness, and timbre. Finally, we discuss a technique to dynamically match the timbre to the selected scale tuning.

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About

  • Item ORO ID
  • 28690
  • Item Type
  • Book Section
  • ISBN
  • 3-642-21589-0, 978-3-642-21589-6
  • Extra Information
  • The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com

    Third International Conference, MCM 2011, Paris, France, June 15-17, 2011
  • Keywords
  • MOS Scales; Well-Formed Scales; Diatonic; Chromatic; Stern- Brocot Tree; Farey Sequence; Fourier Scratching
  • Academic Unit or School
  • Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
  • Research Group
  • Music Computing Lab
  • Copyright Holders
  • © 2011 Springer-Verlag
  • Depositing User
  • Andrew Milne
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)

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