approached previously by both Harry Partch and Ben Johnston, and proposes the decoupling of interface and sound production as a way forward. The design and implementation of a software instrument and a hardware prototype are described, both using a simple API for variable tuning instruments. The hardware prototype uses physical computing techniques to control the tuning of a string with a servo motor, while the software instrument exists entirely in a web browser. Finally, potential algorithms for clients of the API are presented, and the effectiveness of the hardware prototype is evaluated by measuring its pitch accuracy.

Intonation is one of the most important issues facing performers of string quartets. Often, string students learn to play in tune strictly in terms of their own melodic line. To play in tune in a string quartet requires an understanding of the underlying harmony and how intonation can be fluid and flexible in an ensemble. This paper offers students an introduction to harmonic intonation and provides exercises to put this knowledge into practice. The text begins with instruction and exercises related to perfect intervals, which form the basis for intonation. Next, consonant intervals are discussed along with exercises for practice and ear training. Chords are constructed and practiced upon the basis of this interval practice. Student quartets are then asked to play excerpts from the repertoire presented as harmonic reductions and as originally written in order to connect the theoretical knowledge to the string quartet repertoire. Finally, chorales by J.S. Bach arranged for string quartet are provided for continuing practice of intonation in tonal harmony. It is not the attempt of this project to teach music theory or present a comprehensive study of the many issues and challenges related to intonation in string quartet playing. The aim of this essay is to provide students with a solid foundation and practical application of basic principles of playing in tune in a string quartet.

It is widely known that intonation in live professional trombone auditions is one of the most critical factors for which execution is paramount. However, the musician who practices dutifully and precisely with a chromatic tuner, even to the point of technical mastery, will not be prepared sufficiently. He or she will find that in certain environments where heavy reverberation is present, the harmonies inadvertently created are not in tune, even when equal-tempered tuning is executed perfectly, due to the harmonic interactions that those reverberations create. Therefore, it is important that trombonists know how to play auditions excerpts with just intonation, a system that accounts for harmony to deliver results that are truly in tune, for use in the solo round of an audition in such an acoustically "wet" space. This document demonstrates the need for a solution in this regard, the factors involved in a practical application of these concepts in varying scenarios, and presents analyses in just intonation of ten of the most commonly requested excerpts. In addition, guidance and resources are provided for application beyond the excerpts that have been included. It is intended that the trombonist who reads this document will have a better understanding of the basics of just intonation as they apply to solo auditions, so that the quality of his or her audition is improved by leaving at least one less element, intonation, up to chance.

Matrices of Vision is a sonic deconstruction of a higher education dataset compiled by the influential Swedish higher education authority Universitetskanslersämbetet (UKÄ). The title Matrices of Vision and project theme is inspired by Indigenous cyberfeminist, scholar and artist Tiara Roxanne’s work into data colonialism. The method explores how practical applications of sound and theory can be used to meditate on political struggles and envision emancipatory modes of creation that hold space through a music-making practice. The artistic approach uses just intonation as a system, or grid of fixed points, which it refuses. The pitch strategy diverges from this approach by way of its political motivations: it disobeys just intonation’s rigid structure through practice and breaks with its order as a way to explore its experiential qualities. The approach seeks to engage beyond the structures designed to regulate behaviors and ways of perceiving and rather hold space for a multiplicity of viewpoints which are explored through cacophony, emotion and deep listening techniques.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Includes abstract. Vita. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-05, Section: A, page: 1593. Adviser: Heinrich Taube. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 251-258) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (M.M.)--University of North Texas, 2008. / First work for harpsichord; 2nd work for baroque cello and harpsichord continuo; 3rd work for tenor and baroque ensemble (trumpet, cello, timpani, organ and harpsichord). System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Includes bibliographical references (p. 48-50).

Acoustics, intonation and perception are fields that musicians deal with every day. Even so, they are rarely taught extensively in musical education. In my artistic project I investigated how new knowledge in these fields could work as a musical resource and inspire to new solo music for double bass.  My method has been to compose studies, to make use of this new knowledge in a musical setting. In the etudes I have isolated small areas such as; beating, multiphonics, overpressure, just intonation intervals, the pitch-rhythm continuum, difference tones and microtonal modulation. This work has changed my view of the concept tone, interval and consonance/dissonance. Working this way has triggered a lot of inspiration and productivity for new unexpected music. This text could be useful for double bass or string players, composers for double bass, musicians that want inspiration in solo playing or incorporate Just Intonation in their musical language. / <p>Ten Variations of D</p><p>Oaktree</p><p>Intoning</p><p>Examenskonserten</p><p>Vilhelm Bromander kontrabas &amp; komposition</p><p></p><p>Two Seconds </p><p>Vilhelm Bromander - kontrabas &amp; komposition, Benedikt Bindewald - viola</p>

Untune the Sky is a collection of ten original preludes, dances, and songs for microtonal viola da gamba in 7-limit just intonation with voice and live electronics that incorporates elements of Baroque music, traditional Irish dance music, extended just intonation tuning theory, and live electronic audio processing techniques. This thesis thoroughly describes the work and contextualizes its relationship to its historical and contemporary influences. The first sections explain why extended just intonation and viola da gamba were chosen as the central elements of the work. This is followed by a description of the structure, instrumentation, notational conventions, and intended performance practice of the work. The final section contains a musical analysis of the form, harmony, and structure of each piece in the collection. For researchers and interested performers, Appendix A contains a brief catalog of existing microtonal viol repertoire listed with a description of the microtonal techniques used.

The human auditory system can become an active agent in the production of sound when stimulated with specific tone combinations. The resulting auditory distortion products can be amplified and drawn attention to by employing certain just intonation practices – a compositional technique that may serve as a powerful catalyst for reaching different states of mind in listeners. In this thesis, those psychoacoustic phenomena critical to the act of tuning are explored. An experiential tuning protocol is introduced and supported by insights from physiology and neuroscience research. Based on the tuneability of musical intervals, a harmonic framework involving harmonic and subharmonic relationships is analyzed and exemplified via the accompanying composition XV XXVII III XXI IX: Variations. From a phenomenological perspective, the research extends to broader contexts, investigating potential social, ethical, cultural, and political implications of such a practice. / <p><em>XV XXVII III XXI IX: Variations</em> by Luka Aron is a work in 5 parts in which a selected acoustic instrumentation, consisting of bass clarinet, contrabass, euphonium, foghorn organ, harpsichord, serpent, shō, and trumpet coalesces with analog as well as digital synthesis, into one unified mass of sound. By tuning sustained tones towards precision upon occupying the same pitch space, the various timbresare as much canceled out as reinforced, resulting in flux states of spectral fusion. This effect is further achieved through traversing a labyrinth of multiple closely related overtone series, serving as a harmonic framework for the piece’s ever-shifting bedrock. A careful selection of partials is presented, stimulating additional tones in the perception of the listener, making use of a psychoacoustic phenomenon, commonly referred to as otoacoustic emissions, or combination tones. Heavy distortion is then applied to the source signal, allowing the combination tones to materialize in the physical space. Through this, a secondary structure (that, in fact, exposes theundertone series) is gradually unveiled: like light rays meeting the surface of water, partially reflecting back to air, and refracting at once, as they pass from one medium to the other. On a structural plane, the piece stems from complex multi-layered golden mean relationships that permeate to all levels of the composition, ranging from the overall arc to the formal as well as rhythmical aspects of each individual variation, where every sound event is spiraling out of the previous one, and the endpoint is determined right at the initial stroke, before ever unfolding over the total playtime of 43 minutes. With Aron operating the Buchla 200 and EMS VCS3 synthesizers, in addition to the SuperCollider andPure Data coding environments, the cast of musicians includes an array of Stockholm-based artists, such as Mattias Hållsten on shō–a japanese mouth organ–and Susana Santos Silva on trumpet (both members of CC Hennix’ Kamigaku ensemble), just intonation contrabassist Vilhelm Bromander, along with Amina Hocine and her unique self-built foghorn organ. Frequent collaborators Fabian Willmann on bass clarinet and Raphaël Rossé on serpent and euphonium join from the electroacoustic group MINUA, which Aron co-founded. For this occasion, the piece will be diffused on an arrangement of 31 speakers.</p><p><strong>Den klingande delen är arkiverad.</strong></p><p><strong>Luka Aron är artistnam för Luca Aaron Pusch.</strong></p>

This thesis presents an adaptive tuning system that can be described as a dynamic Just Intonation tuning system, being compatible with equally tempered instruments. The tuning system is called Hermode Tuning (HMT) and the tuning used as comparison for evaluation is the standardized western tuning, the equal tempered tuning. This study investigates preferences for these two musical tuning systems, depending on whether the tunings are presented on a piano or with woodwind instruments. A listening test was done with students at the Falun Conservatory of Music, including both a vertical listening (intervalls) and a horizontal listening (cadenses and musical compositions) of Hermode tuned musical material. Overall the results showed no significant preferences for either tuning system irrespectively of what instrument it was presented with. The clearest results was that of a misjudged just intonated perfect third on the piano and a preference for an adaptively tuned piano presented in a simple harmonic structure, with a parameter setting of HMT 70%. Materials for comparison was partly taken from Hermode´s own website, but overall the attitude towards these sequenses (using a likert scale of one to five) showed a low expected value. This shows the complexity of the topic and no general conclusions regarding the choice of intonation or tuning system could be done for the presented material.