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The following pieces are part of an ongoing project called The Equal Tempered Keyboard,
a collection of works intended to demonstrate how equal temperaments with any number of tones per
octave can be used to create contrapuntal music.*
Each non-12ET piece was written using either a
TBX1 or
Scordatura,
a standard MIDI keyboard controller,
and standard music notation software. The MIDI files were made by routing
TBX1 output (controlled by the notation program) into a sequencer set to record
on multiple channels. The mp3 files were made by importing the MIDI files
into Logic Express and using software instruments, or by using
Jack Router
to capture audio directly from Scordatura.
- 7ET — Two-Part Invention Synth 'Atmosphere'
| Synth 'Square Lead' (mp3)
| Score (pdf) (February 4, 2001)
- 8ET — Fantasia Pipe Organ
| Piano
| Pipe Organ (mp3) (May 22, 2007)
- 8ET — Fugue a4 Pipe Organ (mp3) (May 30, 2007)
- 9ET — Prelude Classical Guitar
| Piano
| Classical Guitar (mp3) (June 28, 2007)
- 10ET — Prelude Piano
| Harpsichord (February 4, 2008)
- 11ET — Prelude Piano
| Harp
| Harpsichord
| Piano (mp3) (May 15, 2007)
- 12ET — Two-Part Invention Piano (March 13, 1999)
- 13ET — Prelude Piano
| Pipe Organ
| Harpsichord
| Score (pdf) (April 19, 2007)
- 13ET — Two-Part Invention Piano
| Synth 'Square Lead'
| Synth FX 'Rain' (April 15, 2007)
- 14ET — Prelude Piano (mp3) (January 27, 2009)
- 15ET — Prelude (Elegy) String Ensemble
| Guitar
| Synth 'Choir' (January 28, 2007)
- 15ET — Fugue a3 Marimba
| Piano
| Synth 'Square Lead' (February 4, 2007)
- 16ET — Prelude Piano (mp3) (February 1, 2009)
- 17ET — Two-Part Invention Piano
| Harpsichord
| Piano (mp3) (January 27, 2007)
- 18ET — Prelude Piano (mp3)
(September 18, 2009)
- 19ET — Rondo Classical Guitar
| Harpsichord
| Pipe Organ
| Classical Guitar (mp3) (February 11, 2007)
- 20ET — Prelude & Fugue a3 Harpsichord (mp3)
(October 15, 2009)
*My aim is not just to demonstrate a theoretical idea, but to
write good music. I place the "normal" keyboard tuning of
12ET within a broader context in this collection as just one of a larger family of tunings
called "equal temperaments".
With few exceptions, music theorists throughout history
have summarily (and often vehemently) claimed that the non-12ET tunings I use in these pieces
sound inherently awful and are musically useless
(19ET being a notable exception). Am I proving them wrong? You be the judge.
The following MIDI files were sequenced using a
Tonal Plexus keyboard and MOTU Digital Performer.
The mp3 files were generated from the MIDI files using Logic Express.
Looping: In order to hear these examples as intended, download the files and turn on looping in your MIDI/mp3 file player.
Not Looping
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