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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Exploring microtonal tunings: A kaleidoscope of extended just tunings and their compositional applications. (Volumes I and II)

Abstract

dc:description

Extended just intonation is a field with infinite tonal resources, from pure major scales to Asian music to complex tunings; the resources for performing extended just intonation range from flexibly-pitched traditional instruments to specially-built acoustic instruments to computer programs. This work describes ways to begin working in microtonal music, theory of just intonation, finding and making appropriate tools for hearing tunings and creating compositions, and theoretical ideas from Arabic, Indian and Indonesian music as sources of tuning ideas. It also examines the problem of measuring pitch in Chinese speech and performances of Persian music, as well as the problem of analyzing a tablature notation system used in Harry Partch's music. It includes some examples of microtonal compositions in a number of the tuning systems examined, including American gamelan works by Lou Harrison, Daniel Schmidt and Ingram Marshall.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
D.M.A.
Level thesis:degree_level
Dissertation
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Music
Grantor
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Year dc:date
2011

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Ayers, Lydia
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Brooks, William

Subjects

dc:subject × 1

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • Copyright 1994 Ayers, Lydia
Language dc:language
eng

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Identifier
AAI9512292
(UMI)AAI9512292
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/21235

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
Base URL
www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
related terms
citation

Ayers, Lydia. Exploring microtonal tunings: A kaleidoscope of extended just tunings and their compositional applications. (Volumes I and II). Dissertation thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2142/21235