Microtonal music
Microtonal music is a term for music which uses microtones -- intervals of less than a semitone, or as Charles Ives put it, the "notes between the cracks" of the piano. The term is less frequently used to refer to any music whose tunings are not based on semitones, such as gamelan music and Indian classical music.Some composers of modern avant-garde music have embraced the use of microtonal scales, dividing an octave into 19, 31, 43 and other numbers of pitcheses, rather than the more common 12. The intervals between pitches can be equal, creating an equal temperament, or unequal, such as in just intonation.
Pioneers of modern Western microtonal music include:
See also: External links:- Tuning system derived from pi and the writngs of John 'Longitude' Harrison.
- Modes and Scales in Indian music
- John Starrett's Microtonal Music Page
- The American Festival of Microtonal Music
- Huygens-Fokker Foundation Centre for Microtonal Music
- The Centre for Microtonal Music, London
- Microtonal music on CD
- Directory category: Microtonal tuning systems
