Microtonality, the octave, and novel tunings for affective music

Microtonal scale tunings and dynamic note inflections characterise much Asian music; more recently, much jazz also emphasises pitch inflections quite different from Western classical vibrato. On the other hand, most Western classical composition (and some improvisation contemporaneous with it) has largely expunged such microtonal features, in the process of establishing pitch hierarchies which underpin tonality and modulation, and depend on octaves (a series of pitches in 2:1 frequency relationships). Notable exceptions include the work of innovators such as Partch and Xenakis. Here we discuss forms of contemporary music making which can deeply informed by microtonality, as used in Asian traditions. Knowledge about the perception and cognition of microtuning and microtonality is largely lacking, in contrast to the substantial knowledge about cognition of equal tempered pitch by both Western enculturated listeners and also by people far removed from this tradition in their listening experience. We outline some of the issues which deserve empirical attention. We argue that systems which permit both fixed microtonal tunings and more irregular dynamic inflections smaller than the fixed intervals, may provide a route to expression which for most listeners creates an particular the ‘Dean 81/91 sequential primes just tuned scales’, which are neither based on any precise octaves nor on repetitive frequency interval (ratio) sequences. Such a microtonal approach can take advantage of the relative unfamiliarity of its structuring features, to avoid schematic appreciation (based on extensive prior experience), alienate some concepts of modulation ( ‘metabolae’ in Xenakis’ terminology), and foster real-time listening and semiotic construction. Such ‘real-time’ listening may create a special kind of immersion and spiritual frame, and a corresponding affective flux.