[linux-audio-user] Music, composing, notation (was: More music)

On Sun, Feb 19, 2006 at 08:28:05AM -0500, Dave Phillips wrote: I see. I think Abstract 1 would be a better choice anyway (than Arabesque 1) for two guitars. I think the arrangement could be done, and would sound nice. I have a sense of gratification with Abstract 1, because it's the first piece I have ever written in 5/4 time. In that piece I made heavy use of one of my favorite types of chord: superimposed (or "stacked") fourths, in which the inter-note intervals of 3 or more notes are all a fourth. In addition, I used another of my favorite techniques: rearranging the notes of the chord (or adding notes to the chord) so that the voicing of the chord includes one or more intervals of a second. I love the way each of those (stacked fourths and chords with seconds) sound. Another of my compositional "tricks," should anyone be interested, is in viewing the entire western-tuned chromatic scale as just that--chromatic--and not put the notes into discriminatory boxes of well-known major and minor keys and modes, or subject certain groups and arrangements of pitches to lifeless academic dissection. In this 12-tone approach, there are some interesting scales each of which has the same interval between each of its notes, that one can mix freely together in chords, melodies and harmonies: the chromatic scale, the whole-tone scale, the scale of minor thirds (diminished scale), the scale of major thirds (augmented scale), the scale of fourths (one of my favorites), the scale of diminished fifths (the "dreaded" so called tritone that splits an octave into two equal parts), and so on. The equal-tempered system of tuning, taken in conjunction with the idea that the scale one is using--regardless of notated key signature--is a 12-tone scale that includes all the notes, has its own very complex and interesting mathmatical relationships, possible harmonies that are not possible without equal-temperament, etc. Using this way of conceptualizing the raw materials--the tones (frequencies) available for composition--can open up new doors, new territory for a performer or composer. For example, one of the first concepts a person could adopt is to view each and every chord change of any particular piece as a *key* change, and for the duration of that chord one is in a different key. Another concept is to play chords that are in another key that is related in some way to the "key" (chord) one is in at the time. For example, if one were playing one or more bars based around the C-Major chord, one could throw in fragments or entire chords from other related keys, like a major triad based on the dominant 7th of C (B-flat), or based on the second tone of the C-Major scale (D). The possibilities are endless, I have barely scratched the surface, and I could go on and on, which I (perhaps thankfully) won't. ;-) I'm glad that nice GUI frontends are being developed for LilyPond. I think they will help persuade people who are put off by the text-entry method of LilyPond. But having become used to text-only notation in LilyPond, I find I like it. I try to donate some amount of money to various Linux software projects during the year: to those projects whose software I use frequently or am impressed with or grateful for. Neat-- ;-) -sd -- ---------------------------------------------------------------- Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them. -Samuel Butler ----------------------------------------------------------------