Terminology Microtonal music

microtonal music can refer music containing microtones, therefore important comprehend microtone is. words microtone , microtonal coined before 1912 maud maccarthy mann in order avoid misnomer quarter tone when speaking of srutis of indian music (mann 1912, 44). prior time term quarter tone used, confusingly, not interval half size of semitone, intervals (considerably) smaller semitone (ellis 1877, 665; meyer 1903). may have been earlier, perhaps 1895, mexican composer julián carrillo, writing in spanish or french, coined terms microtono/micro-ton , microtonalismo/micro-tonalité (donval 2006, 119).

in french, usual term more self-explanatory micro-intervalle, , french sources give equivalent german , english terms mikrointervall (or kleinintervall) , micro interval (or microtone), respectively (amy 1961; anon. 1998; wallon 1980, 13; whitfield 1989, 13. microinterval frequent alternative in english, in translations of writings french authors , in discussion of music french composers (battier , lacino 1984, 79; boulez 1958, 22–23; rae 2013, 164, 174n40). in english, 2 terms microtone , microinterval synonymous (maclagan 2009, 109). english analogue of related french term, micro-intervalité, however, rare or nonexistent, being translated microtonality ; in french, terms micro-ton, microtonal (or micro-tonal), , microtonalité used, mixed in same passage micro-intervale , micro-intervalité (donval 2006, 119, 183; jedrzejewski 2014, passim; rigoni 1998, 314).

ezra sims, in article microtone in second edition of harvard dictionary of music (apel 1974, 527) defines microtone interval smaller semitone , corresponds aristoxenus s use of term diesis (richter 2001). however, unsigned article comma, schisma in same reference source calls comma, schisma , diaschisma microintervals not microtones (apel 1974, 188), , in fourth edition of same reference (which retains sims s article on microtone ) new comma, schisma article andré barbera calls them intervals (barbera 2003). in second edition of new grove dictionary of music , musicians, paul griffiths, mark lindley, , ioannis zannos define microtone musical rather acoustical entity: musical interval or difference of pitch distinctly smaller semitone , including tiny enharmonic melodic intervals of ancient greece, several divisions of octave more 12 parts, , various discrepancies among intervals of intonation or between sharp , enharmonically paired flat in various forms of mean-tone temperament , indian sruti, , small intervals used in byzantine chant, arabic music theory 10th century onward, , persian traditional music , turkish music , various other near eastern musical traditions (griffiths, lindley, , zannos 2001), not name mathematical terms schisma, comma, , diaschisma.

microtone used refer individual notes, microtonal pitches added , distinct familiar twelve notes of chromatic scale (von gunden 1986, 59), enharmonic microtones (barbieri 2008, 139), example.

in english word microtonality mentioned in 1946 rudi blesh related microtonal inflexions of so-called blues scales (blesh 1946, 234). used still earlier w. mcnaught reference developments in modernism in 1939 record review of columbia history of music, vol. 5 (mcnaught 1939, 102). in german term mikrotonalität came use @ least 1958 (prieberg 1958, 288; prieberg 1960, 29–32, 210–12, inter al), though mikrointervall still common today in contexts small intervals of european tradition (diesis, comma etc.) described, e.g. in new geschichte der musiktheorie (zaminer 2006, 94) while mikroton seems prevail in discussions of avant-garde music , music of eastern traditions. term microinterval used alongside microtone american musicologist margo schulter in articles on medieval music (schulter 1998; schulter 2001).

microtonal

the term microtonal music refers music containing small intervals can include tuning differs western twelve-tone equal temperament. traditional indian systems of 22 śruti; indonesian gamelan music; thai, burmese, , african music, , music using intonation, meantone temperament or other alternative tunings may considered microtonal (griffiths , lindley 1980; griffiths, lindley, , zannos 2001). microtonal variation of intervals standard practice in african-american musical forms of spirituals, blues , jazz (cook , pople 2004, 124–26).

many microtonal equal divisions of octave have been proposed, (but not always) in order achieve approximation intervals of intonation (griffiths , lindley 1980; griffiths, lindley, , zannos 2001).

terminology other microtonal has been used or proposed theorists , composers. in 1914, a. h. fox strangways objected heterotone better name śruti usual translation microtone (strangways 1914, 127n). modern indian researchers yet write: microtonal intervals called shrutis (datta, sengupta, dey, , nag 2006, 18). in germany, austria, , czechoslovakia in 1910s , 1920s usual term continued viertelton-musik (quarter-tone music; möllendorff 1917,), , type of intervallic structure found in such music called vierteltonsystem (hába 1921,hába 1922), (in mentioned region) regarded main term referring music microintervals, though 1908 georg capellan had qualified use of quarter tone alternative term bruchtonstufen (viertel- und dritteltöne) (fractional degrees (quarter , third-tones)) (capellen 1908, 184). despite inclusion of other fractions of whole tone, music continued described under heading vierteltonmusik until @ least 1990s, example in twelfth edition of riemann musiklexikon (riemann 1967, 1032–33), , in second edition of popular brockhaus riemann musiklexikon (dahlhaus, eggebrecht, , oehl 1995, 304).

ivan wyschnegradsky used term ultra-chromatic intervals smaller semitone , infra-chromatic intervals larger semitone (wyschnegradsky 1972, 84–87); same term has been used since 1934 ethnomusicologist victor belaiev (belyaev) in studies of azerbaijan , turkish traditional music (belyaev 1971a; belyaev 1971b). similar term, subchromatic, has been used theorist marek Žabka (Žabka 2014). ivor darreg proposed (where , when?) term xenharmonic. (see xenharmonic music). austrian composer franz richter herf , colleague @ salzburg mozarteum, music theorist rolf maedel, preferred using greek word ekmelic when referring pitches lying outside traditional twelve-tone system (hesse 1991, 216–17). authors in russia (anon. 1990; anon. 2007; akopyan 2010; tsenova 2007, 65, 123, 152, etc.; anon. 2006, 86, etc.; kholopov 2003, 172, etc.), , musicology dissertations (klishin 2010; gurenko 2010; polunina 2010; rovner 2010; nikoltsev 2013, more references can located here) disseminate term микрохроматика (microchromatics), coined in 1970s yuri kholopov (kholopov 1976), describe kind of intervallic genus (интервальный род) possible microtonal structures, both ancient (as enharmonic genus—γένος ἐναρμόνιον—of greeks) , modern (as quarter-tone scales of alois haba); generalization term allowed avoid derivatives such микротональность (microtonality, understood in russian sub-tonality, subordinate dominating tonality, in context of european music of 19th century) , микротоника (microtonic, barely perceptible tonic ; see clarification in (kholopov 2000)). russian authors use more international adjective microtonal , rendered in russian микротоновый , not microtonality ( микротональность ) (kogut 2005; adèr 2013; pavlenko, kefalidi, , ekimovskij 2002; etc. ). used микротональность , микротоника also. authors writing in french have adopted term micro-intervallique describe such music (e.g., criton 2010; jedrzejewski 2004). italian musicologist luca conti dedicated 2 monographs microtonalismo (conti 2005; conti 2008), usual term in italian, , in spanish (e.g., found in title of rué 2000). analogous english form, microtonalism , found instead of microtonality , e.g., @ time when serialism , neoclassicism still incipient third movement emerged: microtonalism (chou 1971, 218).

the term macrotonal has been used intervals wider twelve-tone equal temperament (anon. n.d.), or there fewer twelve notes per octave, though term not satisfactory , used because there seems no other (pressing 1992, 239). term macrotonal has been used musical form (spring , hutcheson 2013, 82).