EXPLORATION OF TUNING SYSTEMS
Dates: 7pm Tuesdays, 23rd March - 13th April
In Western culture today, our music is, for the most part, confined to equal temperament, in which we have 12 fixed pitches to build harmony and melody. But what about our infinite potential of pitches, and the sonic experience of micro-intervals?
This series explores whether microtonality and just intonation have a place in mainstream consumption of music. Looking at the history of our tuning systems, notions of what really is 'in tune', and the sonic experience of pure intervals, we will discover how equal temperament can limit us, and how composers are breaking free from this convention.
MADDIE ASHMANis a London based multi-instrumentalist and composer. Recent interdisciplinary work has involved writing original music for two sell out shows at Edinburgh Fringe with Slipshod Theatre, for 5* rated feature film Tales Of The Apocalypse, and for painter Alf Lohr's recent exhibition at Staatliches Museum, Germany. In April, Maddie released her debut EP 'Don't Come Back', reaching over 27k streams. Over the last year, Maddie has turned her focus to deeply exploring microtonality and just intonation, studying with renowned composer Michael Harrison. She aspires to bring overlooked tuning systems and their sound worlds into media composition.
- EP01: Equal TemperamentTue, Mar 23Zoom
- EP02: Microtonal ExperienceTue, Mar 30Zoom
- EP03: Just Intonation and BeatingTue, Apr 06Zoom
- EP04: What is the Future of Music?Tue, Apr 13ZoomApr 13, 7:00 PM GMT+1ZoomWhat is the future of music? Will equal temperament dominate capitalist music consumption forever? In this episode we will face the challenges of moving away from equal temperament, such as fixed instrument limitations, unfamiliar notation systems and advanced recording methods.