Another Sketch for TWBL

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Here's another step along the way towards the Western Bog Laurel piece. Today's sketch uses semi-unison lines in the harp, finger piano, vibe, marimba, bass finger piano, and balloon drums. I say semi-unison because each instrument can change alter his line by a few notes. There is a variable randomness setting in the software. The balloon drum part has more notes than the others, but that's because his sustain is so limited.

Each chord can have a variety of alterations: straight, trill, or slide. The trills and slides move each note in a triad up or down by a step in the otonality scale. Bb 16/9 can go up a 9:8 to C 1/1 or down a 7:8 to Ab 14/9. The D 10/9, which is a 5:4 above the Bb 16/9 can go up an 11:10 to Eb 11/9 or down a 9:10 to C 1/1. And the F 4/3 a 3:2 above Bb 16/9 can go up a 7:6 to Gb 13/9 or down a 11:12 to an Eb 11/9. The slides are nice and sweet. Here is the glissando up a 12:11 in Csound:

f 323 0 256 -7 1 64 1 128 1.0905077 64 1.0905077 ; 12:11 22 up 9

And here it is graphically, as rendered by Csound to a PDF file:

Sketch for Western Bog Laurel

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The subminor scale is my name for a minor scale built from overtones, but with the root of the scale starting on the 3:2 instead of the 1:1. For example, consider an overtone series on F. The 3:2 above F is C. If the scale is based on a mode starting on C, as shown in the graph above, you have the subminor scale.

As with all overtone series, a cluster of notes above a certain pitch will always generate a difference tone. But even though the scale designed to favor the root at C, the difference tone will always be F. I will have to take that into consideration when I add low notes. They will have to resolve that F to C, and choose notes carefully to minimize the difference tone prominence.

Through Western Bog Laurel

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Listen to the difference tones move around in this set of changes.

• B 16/9 major
• D 12/11 sub minor
• G 3/2 sub minor
• C 1/1 minor
• F 4/3 major
• B 16/9 major

In this case, major is an otonality based 4:5:6 triad. Sub minor is otonality based also, but on the 6:7:9 overtones. Think of a G minor using G Bbb D. Minor is utonality minor 6/6:5:4. When I slide from one chord to another, the difference tones go in strange directions. They will probably disappear as I add more instruments to the mix. Today is sounds like a nice barbershop harmony tune that could have been taken from a hymnal.