Ever heard of double lydian? What about Double Phrygian? Double Dorian? In this video we explore microtonal modes, and their "double mode" extensions through a curious defect in an old baby piano. Through tuning theory and the magic of 31 EDO we will bend the fabric of harmony as we know it, and see just how far we can push the envelope of microtonal music theory with 31 notes. Babe wake up, new music theory just dropped!
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A quick note on "out of tune" & how we describe music we don't like:
I often read the comment "it just sounds out of tune". I think a lot of musicians and creators working in the microtonal space hear that frequently. More often than not I take that as a substitute for saying "this does not sound good". That is fair. Microtones, Xenharmonics, or just about anything not in 12 can be jarring to the ears upon first listen. If it's not your cup of tea, its not your cup of tea. The wording of that comment however, has always bothered me. It presupposes 12 tone equal temperament as being the "superior" tuning system. Ubiquity does not imply superiority. On a technical level, when microtonalists hear "it sounds out of tune" we chuckle to ourselves, because, we have the insider knowledge to know better. It's not in 12, yes. That does not mean its not in tune. We are just calibrated to a different tuning system, and therefore don't feel the need to necessarily judge the music to a 12 TET standard. This might just be a minor distinction in the macro. Language after all is fluid, constantly flowing from one kind of colloquialism to the next, why scrutinize such a casual saying like "it sounds out of tune"? The language that we use matters. Every time we groan that microtonal music is "just out of tune" we entrench ourselves deeper into the idea that 12 tone equal temperament is the absolute standard, and that everything that falls short of it is bad. Don't get me wrong, there IS bad microtonal music. Just like there is BAD 12 TET music, but that's not the point. Out of tune means something very specific: You have fallen outside the bounds of expectation in terms of the overall pitch content in your music. The expectation part is important. A wise man once said "don't judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree". When we place those kinds of expectations on the fish it becomes harder and harder to see the fish for all the things its incredibly good at. If I'd have picked up this baby piano and said to myself "Yikes, its just out of tune!" that probably would have been the end of it. I'd set it down and have been on my way. No digitized tuning, no double mode shenanigans, no really unique music. I would have considered that a shame. Would you?
Timestamps:
00:00 - It's in A... Kinda...
04:56 - Finding Beauty in the Dissonance
07:20 - Digitizing Microtonal Tunings
08:39 - Re-conceptualizing music in 31 EDO
11:00 - The Double Mode Concept
16:17 - Double Lydian Jam
#musictheory #microtonal #31edo #doublelydian #doublemodes