Three short fiddlings in three rank-2 temperaments (Maqamic, Bleu, Supra) in 17-tone equal temperament, on a DIY oil-can ukulele. Recorded with a Jez riley French contact mic and Rode NT1, processed (dynamics, reverb, EQ) in Reaper.

17edo Uke Supra

17edo Uke Bleu

17edo Uke Maqamic

A short improv on a small 12edo guitar tuned to the chord 4:7:10:13:16:22 above a low B|). The third fret on the second highest string gives harmonic 19 above the fundamental. Thanks to Praveen Venkataramana for the tuning idea. Recorded with an iPhone on a 3/4-size child's guitar!

after Praveen, 4:7:10:13:16:22

Made from the interior sounds of metal objects recorded with a contact mic.

Aluminous

Excerpts from acoustic concert works written between 2005 and 2012.

1. Pax in Nomine Domini! (2005), for orchestra; James Gaffigan, Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra
2. of Another (2005), for piano trio; Morgan Scagliotti, violin; Joshua Roman, cello; Dmitri Levkovich, piano
3. Todesfuge (2010), for tenor and chamber orchestra; Dennis Tobenski, tenor; Vince Peterson, CUNY New Music Ensemble
4. Cotangent Blues (2006/08), for clarinet solo; Mark Bradley, clarinet in A
5. Let Rocks Their Silence Break (2006/07), for viola, piano and two percussionists; Brian Lindgren, viola; Allison Lander, piano; Shannon Zakarison, percussion; Peter Wise, percussion
6. Fig Tree of the Mountain (2012), for piano and wind ensemble with percussion; Ran Dank, piano; Whitney George, CUNY Contemporary Music Ensemble
7. Nine Studies on a Night Out(2006), movement IX for guitar solo; Nicolas Deuson, guitar
8. Pax in Nomine Domini! (2005), for orchestra; James Gaffigan, Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra

Acoustic Concert Music Excerpts

Excerpts from selected electronic works, 2003-22.

1. Aluminous (2021)
2. The Sun Rises and Sets Above a Black Lake (2003/22)
3. Aluminous
4. A Drone for August (2015)
5. Aluminous

Electronic Concert Music Excerpts

Morgan Scagliotti, violin
Joshua Roman, cello
Dmitri Levkovich, piano

11 May 2006, Cleveland Institute of Music

Of Another (2005)

On the poem by Paul Celan.

Dennis Tobenski, tenor
Vince Peterson, CUNY Contemporary Music Ensemble

2011, Elebash Hall, The Graduate Center, City University of New York

Todesfuge (2010)

THE ATARI PUNK CONDOLE IS AN INSTRUMENT FOR PLAYING SUBHARMONIC SERIES SEGMENTS!

This may not be news to those in the know, but it came as a pleasant surprise to me. I've been building hobby circuits for a few months for some teaching I do, and just got around to building my first APC. It's got to be one of the most frequently recommended builds for relative beginners, and it's often described as a 'noise maker' that makes 'crazy sounds,' but hardly anyone mentions how very rational are the subharmonic frequency relationships it produces. My cursory internet searching tonight only turns up one source who identifies this, here:

https://cohost.org/rc/tagged/penny%20drone%20system

She describes it well (and also alludes to some very interesting modifications). Basically, you have two 555 timer circuits in series, where the first 555 is an oscillator at the frequency of the first subharmonic, and the second 555 is a 'one shot' pulse wave generator at integer divisions of the input frequency. You take the output from the second 555, allowing you to play the subharmonic series of the 'fundamental' provided by the first 555. The pot on the first 555 varies the frequency of that 'fundamental,' and the pot on the second 555 ranges over a series of subharmonics, the length of which is determined by the ratio of capacitance between the two timing capacitors on the respective 555 timers.

Anyway, it's ingeniously simple and very musical, IMO. I made a quick and dirty iPhone recording of some noodling against a pair of drone oscillators (Super Simple Oscillators, after Look Mum No Computer). Please forgive the quality, and disregard the kids and TV in the other room! The recording begins with the done at a perfect 12th, corresponding to the 3rd and 9th subharmonics. It then goes off piste as I change the fundamental subharmonic frequency on the APC and then fiddle with the drones, but having the ability to do quick subharmonic runs on the APC has such expressive range and is just plain fun to do!

Rough recording testing out an APC alongside a pair of 'Super Simple Oscillator' drones

Electronic playback
Tuning: Just Intonation

A Drone For August (2-Channel Version)

An improvisation on electric guitar, with electronics, excerpted from a larger work that was premiered on 2 December 2015 at Café Kino in Bristol, UK.
Tuning: 20-note subset of 50 equal divisions of the octave

Improv After Kino (excerpt)

Multitrack guitar and MIDI recording. Performed on a guitar with 19 equal divisions to the octave, in an 11-note MOS of the rank-2 temperament Sensi, cycling through a 245/243 comma pump.

Beatfruit No. 19

A three-chord MIDI improvisation in Voltage[7], 5 steps down, tuned in 37 equal divisions of the octave.

Voltage Test

A sketch in Superpyth[12], 6 steps down, on D. Tuned in 27edo.

Casey Hale's Album

More than three over two

An improvisation in a 17-note, 13-limit Just Intonation constant structure, with 896:891 tempered out, in POTE tuning(for unrelated purposes). The ratios in the Scala file below represent the “strict” JI version.

!Progression[17]_detemper_harm_10-15.scl
!
17-note CS from chaining 10:11:12:13:14:15 on 5/3, 5/4 and 15/8. 15-odd-limit otonal ogdoad on 1/1.
!
 17
!
 33/32
 13/12
 9/8
 7/6
 39/32
 5/4
 21/16
 11/8
 45/32
 3/2
 99/64
 13/8
 5/3
 7/4
 11/6
 15/8
 2/1

Sketch in 13-limit JI (slightly tempered)

This is an (imperfect) acoustic guitar rendition of the second movement from my trio Enneadecahedron (2017), originally for trumpet, electric guitar and percussion in 19-tone equal temperament. The trio is dedicated to duo Contour, and was premiered at EUROMicrofest 2017 in Freiburg, Germany.

Ballad from Enneadecahedron (2017)

Not Silent (2017), for guitar in 13-limit Just Intonation. Dedicated to and performed by Tolgahan Çoğulu. Video recording available on the DVD The Art of Silence (P-ART, 2018).

Not Silent (2017), performed by Tolgahan Çoğulu

A historically inaccurate rendition of the Sarabande from Johann Jakob Froberger's Suite VII in E minor (1656). MIDI courtesy of the Mutopia Project. Audio rendered in Pianoteq 6, using the Steinway D Home instrument, a lot of reverb and a little delay. Retuned to a chain of fifths at about 713.553 cents, so that a chain of four yields a major third at a ratio of 13:10 to the tonic.

Froberger, Suite VII in E minor, IV. Sarabande (Historically Inaccurate)

J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, Fugue IV (BWV 849), for 5 voices
A-historically realised in 5-, 7- and 9-tone equal temperaments, as well as the regular temperaments Mavila and Meantone (in TOP tuning), and performed via Pianoteq.
Arranged by Casey Hale, 2021.
Image source: Kyle Macdonald. 'Scientists have created a ‘true’ image of Bach’s face'. Classic FM. (online) 18 Feb. 2020.

caseyhale

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