Techniques of Polytempic Polymicrotonal Composition

  Controlled Organization of Microchroma within Polymicrotonal Systems For me, pitch organization is either atonal , tonal , or centric . One can use any approach one wishes in polytempic polymicrotonality . I prefer to be somewhere in between. Although I have not used twelve-tone procedures for my compositions, I have used cells, tetrachords , centric quasi-tonal areas , and even jazz harmony .  Again, I refrain from "laying down" a law or system, and I am only trying to cover an array of topics related to all things poly. I know that Joseph Straus 's book Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory  is NOT everyone's favorite textbook, as it resembles a math class, but it has crystallized some basic atonal concepts for me in my undergrad and graduate years.  I know I rail against the new simplicity of microtonal music adopting minimalism and drones , but there really needs to be an alternative to this. It is good that a simpler approach is pertinent today, as this period...

 Applying Prosody to a Microtonal System What is Prosody, and what the Heck does it have to do with Microtones?   Although Leonard Meyer created a musical analysis approach using simple prosodic elements from the analysis of poetic syllabic feet, I have always been interested in prosody and its close relationship to song and music in general. This morning, as my cat Maximus attacked my face while I was trying to sleep, I had an idea concerning the use of prosody with regard to microtonal systems.  Fig. 1. Disyllabic permutations as applied to microtonal voice leading and pitch cell organization In prosody, poems are written syllabically in a meter, such as in iambic pentameter .  Most English classical poetry is written in iambic pentameter. Take Milton's Paradise Lost , for instance. This epic poem is entirely written in a foot resembling: ∪ — where "∪" is the unstressed syllable, and "—" is the stressed syllable. There are three categories of syllabic feet: ...