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Naturtone-instruments
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Human
Voice
The human voice certainly
is the eldest and most spread-out naturetone instrument.
In the course of thousands of years most different tone systems have developed
all over the world, that frequently come from naturetones, and still are
rooted in the peoples' music and cultures, though the music of the occident,
especially pop music, has already driven out many cultural possessions
of extraeuropean civilizations and almost destroyed them irretrievingly.
Overtone-Singing
Overtone-singing,
however, has been maintained in many parts of the world, as in Tuva, Mongolia,
where the famous "Chomi" or "Humi"-singers come from.
Overtone-singing has become established in the western world since the
seventies - especially should be mentioned David Hykes and the New York
Harmonic Quire, founded 1975. ("Hearing Solar Winds", 1977-1983),
Michael Vetter ("Overtone-Oratorium", "Overtones"
and "Tambura-Meditation", 1982), Christian Bollmann and "Obertonchor
Düsseldorf" ("Rise my soul", 1985-1988, and "Drehmomente",
1989).
Nowadays overtone-singing
is fairly common, there are groups and quires making overtone music in
nearly all larger cities. Further informations you can get from Chris
Amrhein, "Obertonchor Prisma, Salzburg" - "www.urkraft.at".
Singing in the Naturetone System NTS
The adaption
of human voice to the pitches of the Naturetone-System NTS is a question
of intonation at best, and it does simply depend on the rapidity of removing
the detection of tones from conventional, drummed-in stereotypes.
The ideal of a totally equal temperation, striven for such a long time
and still dogged pursued by traditionalists, has turned out to be nothing
but an artefact that neither exists in physics nor in human physis - it
is not existent in nature: human hearing arranges temperated intervals
in ratios of frequencies and prefers the proportions of small numbers,
like they are to be found in the naturetone scale. As the occidental tone-systemonly
uses a small part of those intervals, singing and playing music in the
Naturetone-System is a considerable enlargement of the tone-material,
and it can be learned step by step.
First step is including
the nature septh - a minor septh, consciously diminished a little bit
- that is to build up an harmonic chord, connected with the corresponding
major triad ( you need a pure natural third 5/4 in this triad, not a temperated
third!).
Next step is the inclusion of the 11th nature-tone, that produces a "neutral
third" in relation to the second, as it is used in oriental music
("Arabic third"), and therefore it is not difficult to learn.
The thirteenth nature-tone, however, is of importance to describe quartertones
and quartertone- alterations (15/13 = 247C, 16/13 = 359C, 13/10 = 455C
), and it has to be adapted harmonically and melodically into its context.
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Strings
String Instruments
As string
instruments like violin, viola, violoncello and doublebase are fretless,
naturetons can be well-registered by hearing, at least naturetones from
number 1 to number 16, and performed easily by playing corresponding deviations
from the common pitches. You can detrminate naturetones even by playing
natural flageolets - but note: higher naturetones like 11 and 13 performed
as natural flageolets have high frequencies, so that they hardly can be
perceived on swinging violin- (or viola-) strings.
Pluck Instruments
Pluck instruments
only can be scarcely used in naturetone-music, as the length of the strings
is strictly divided by frets, so that these instruments are mostly tuned
in equal-semitone temperature or in historic tunings - with the exceptionof
instruments, especially constructed for special tunings, like the "enharmonic
guitar" by Martin Draaf and Martin Vogel (Martin Draaf, Martin Vogel:
"Die enharmonische Gitarre" - Orpheus-Schriftenreihe, Band 45)
or instruments to play in "Just Intonation"-tuning.
An inividual tuning of one, two or more strings allows you to adapt different
chords, sequences, arpeggios and so on, to the naturetone tuning. Some
of those chords and sequencies can be transposed, but caused by the based
temperated tuning, such possibilities are not frequent at all.
The same to zither,
harp, cymbal and similar instruments: only some particular strings are
able to be brought into line with the Naturetone-System, and it takes
a lot of experience to handle these instruments in thze right way of playing
the new chords and series of this new music. Compromises will be necessary
- at the expense of exactitude and purity of sounds.
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Brass
Woodwind Instruments
Woodwind
instruments are also suited for playing naturetone-music. Deviations from
temperated tuning can be managed by special fingerings, half-closings
or lip pressure. As construction and origin of a woodwind instrument are
responsible for ist special sounding, there are no general instructions
to play the pitches of naturetone scales. You are recommended to start
your own pitch table, and some pitch tables, published by experienced
musicians, can be at your assistance: Woodwind: Bartoluzzi: "New Music
for Woodwind" Flute: John Fonville and Stuart Quimby: "Microtonal Fingerings
for Flute" (Pitch 4/1990) David Whiteside: "Flut in 72-Tone" (Pitch 4/1990)
Clarinet: Harold seletsky: "Quartertone Fingerings for the Boehm Clarinet"
Michael Richards: "Microtonal Chart for Clarinet", Ian Greitzer: "Clarinet
in 72-Tone" (all in: Pitch 4/1990) Bassoon: Johnny Reinhard: "Microtonal
Bassoon" (Pitch 4/1990) The repertoire of naturetones is completed by
multiphones and flageolets, f.e. Robert Dick: "The other flute"
Brass Instruments
Brass instruments
are original naturetone instruments, especially when they are played without
pallets.
Pallets may be used to play in other naturetone scales besides the instrument's
basic tone. In practice, alterations of a semitone, a whole-tone and a
fourth are without any problems - the third only cannot satisfy: it is
still tuned in the temperated tuning. It will be necessary in future to
construct a special extended tube to achieve a natural third. This does
not concern the trobone - the plyer is only advised to intonate exactly
the piches of the naturetone scale.
Nature brass instruments
(hunting horns, alpenhorn, signal trumpets and others) oonly allow harmonies
basing on the instrument's basic tone. In naturetone-music it is advantageous
to use several different basictone-instruments.- Didgeridoo even is counted
among nature-brass-instruments.
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Idiophone
Die meisten Idiophone,
soweit sie nicht nur Rhythmus-, sondern auch Melodie-Instrument sind,
entsprechen der temperierten Stimmung. Xylophone, Marimbas und Vibraphone
müßten, um sie in der Naturtonmusik einsetzen zu können,
mit neuen, zusätzlichen Platten bestückt und dadurch im Umfang
beträchtlich erweitert werden. Ein virtuoses Spiel ist auf diese
Weise nicht mehr möglich.
Einzig die Pedal-Pauken erlauben Tonabweichungen im mikrotonalen Bereich.
Dennoch sind die meisten
neuen Musikinstrumente für das Spiel mit Tönen aus dem Naturton-System
speziell als Idiophone, meist mit Klangstäbe oder Klangröhren,
angelegt worden. Harry Partch (1901-1974) hatte verschiedenste Instrumente
in unterschiedlichen Stimmungen konstruiert, meist mit einer kleineren
Auswahl an Tönen, die Naturintervalle zum Klingen brachten, bevor
er an den Bau des à "Zoomoozophones" mit 31 Klangröhren
pro Oktave heranging (1975 von Dean Drummond fertiggestellt).
Ebenfalls aus 31 Röhren
pro Oktave, jedoch in gleichen Tonabständen, besteht das "Tubulon",
von Ervin Wilson und Craig Hundley, das 1980 fertiggestellt worden ist.
Ihm folgte 1990 ein weiteres Instrument, diesmal jedoch mit 53 Röhren
pro Oktave - und ebenfalls mit gleichen Tonabständen.
Das à "Escalophon"
befindet sich noch in der Entwicklung. Es enthält nur 8 Klangröhren
pro Oktave, ist dafür aber mit mehreren Skalen ausgestattet und erlaubt
auch das Spiel mit Untertonskalen - insgesamt auf 256 Metallröhren
auf 4 Oktaven.
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Elektronic
Instruments
Telharmonium
This instrument, presented
1906 at New York by Dr.Thaddeus Cahill, was regarded as a real sensation
- a precurser of sound synthesis. ((à) The enormous gadget of Dr.Thaddeus
Cahill)
Sphaerophone
In the twenties of
the last century, Jörg Mager (1880-1938) developed an electronic
instrument, based on microtonal systems (tenth- and twelfth-tones) and,
in fact, realized it at Donaueschingen Music Days in 1926 in a more modest
way as Jörg Mager had pictured himself: "Imagine a wonderful
day in spring in Treptow Park (Berlin). There is tower erected in its
center, higher than the near-by observatory - the Sphaerophone. The instrument,
with musicians and engineers as operators, starts to play. Cascades of
sounds.....spraying over thousands of people....."
Trautonium
The trautonium,
developed by Oskar sala, was a most favourite instrument in the time of
the first great sund films in Germany. It enabled to produce microtones
and the pitches of the nature-tone scale as well. In 1937 the Croatian
composer Josip Stolcer-Slavenski wrote the the first composition in the
nature-tone system - for entirely four trautoniums - but it never had
been performed: for the four existing instruments had to be brought together
from different parts of Europe; when the second world war had broken out,
this undertaking became impossible.
Keyboards: Scalatron
In 1978,
USA, George Secor constructed a keyboard to play in different microtonal
systems of 17-, 22- and 41- equidistant pitches per octave. He dealt with
a suggestion of Ivor Darreg, who commended this system already in the
year 1930 to represent pure intervals (Just Intonation).
George Secor also developed a new spelling for the 41-p-system ("New
Scales", 1978), and he declared to be able to realize 24.552 pure
intervals ("tones") by combining the systems of the instrument.
("Motorola Scalatron").
Newkeyboard
The (à)
Newkeyboard shows a patented new arrangement of keys, 1993 specially developed
for nature-tone system NTS by Johannes Kotschy. An octave contains only
16 keys - this makes the instrument easier to handle than the piano-keyboard.
But including technical assistance like transposition, combinations and
links, the stock of intervals and sounds of this instrument, indeed, is
boundless. (see: "www.newkeyboard.de")
"www.newkeyboard.de"
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Organs
and Keyboards
Conventional keyboards
with seven white keys and five black per octave are not sufficient to
play nature-tone scales with 16 pitches or more. But it is possible to
play the harmonic nature-tone scale with 8 pitches by altering the pitch
level of every single key. Most keyboards and synthesizers are equipped
today to perform this operation in an easy way.
You may arrange the keyboard to play the nature-tone scales 8-16 of related
scales like G and C, only missing the 15th naturetone of G (= F#):
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
C D E F# G Ab Bb B C
G A B C# D Eb F - G
For this operation you need the following alterations:
C: +50 C; C#: +03 C; D: +54 C; Eb: +93; E: +36 C; F: +21C; F#: +01 C;
G: +52 C; Ab: +91C;
A: +56 C; Bb: +19C; B: +38 C.
Endeavours to construct
equal-tempered microtone scales in order to present the pure intervals
of the nature-tone scale, first led to the use of keyboard-instruments
with a simple division of whole tones and semitones (quartertone-piano)
Later on, keyboards had been constructed that allowed to divide whole
tones with semitones excluded - so it enabled to play in third- or fifth-tone
tunings and others (à) Carrillo-pianos
Quartertone Pianos
In 1893,
G.A.Behrens-Senegalden, Berlin, had already invented the "bichromatic
piano" with two manuals on top of the other. Years later, in 1924,
the quartertone piano came finally to technical maturity: drafts of Alois
Hába (1893 - 1970) led to the construction of the three-manual
qurtertone piano, built by F.August Foerster, Georgswalde in Bohemia.
This extraordinary piano was presented in public for the first time in
1925, during the ISCM-Festival at Prague, Czechoslovakia.
Sixthtone-Harmonium
By suggestion
of Alois Hába, August Foerster also constructed a sixth-tone harmonium
in 1927, which was destined to come to the Prague Music Conservatory.
One year before, J&P Schiedmayer, Stuttgart, Germany had finished
the first instrument at all for Ferruccio Busoni at Berlin Highschool.
Carrillo Pianos
1940 Julian
Carrillo completed the division of semi- and whole tones into microtones
in his composition "Pianows Metamorfoseados", a piece with 15
pianos that put all possibilities of dividing a whole tone from the semitone
to the sixteenth tone. All these instruments could have been heard at
the world exhibition at Bruxelles in 1958. Now they don't exist anymore,
with the exception of one third-tone piano, now in possession of Martine
Joste, France. In the last years, however, the sixteenth-tone piano has
become reconstructed (Sauter-pianos), ordered from interested musicians
of different European countries. The whole keyboard of this remarkable
instrument includes only one octave (!).
Bosanquet's Harmonium
Bosanquet's
Harmonium, also called "Euharmonic Harmonium", with 53 pitche
sper octave, has been created in 1876 already, as a gadget to to Bosanquet's
essay "Theory of the division of the octave and the practical use
of the resulting musical systems". Bosanquet's harmonium really did
sound much better than most of the tunings in those days, as the 53-pitch-division
comes close to the nature-tone intervals - but George Berhard Shaw, listening
to the sounds of Bosanquet's harmonium, thought them to be "unpleasantly
slimy".
Harmon
"The
"Harmon", constructed 1883 by James Paul White, Philadelphia,
resembles Bosanquet's harmonium.
"Arcifoon"
- The Huygens-Fokker Organ
This organ,
planned by Adriaan Fokker, and realized by B.Pels and Sons, Netherlands,
was placed 1950 in Teyler Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands. Its two manuals
contain 11 bars of keys, each one upon the other, and even five bars of
pedal keys. The base of ist tuning is a scale of pure thirds (387 Cent),
that return to their starting point after series of 31 thirds.
From 1950 to 1955, regularly performances with the new Huygens-Fokker
organ took place at Teyler Museum, presenting ancient music literature
like Sweelinck and New Music as well, specially written for this organ.
In 1960, the organization of recitals has been resumed; the organ still
keeps its place at Teyler Musem, where you can take a view on it and listen
to its sounds.
The Ekmelic Organ
The ekmelic
organ has been constructed by Franz Richter Herf and Rolf Maedel at Mozarteum
High School, Salzburg, in 1976. It is tuned in equal twelfth-tones and
so allows to play 72 pitches per octave, divided in three manuals. Each
of the keys can be altered about a twelfth-tone by hitting a little push-button
at the end of the key. The organ enables to play the pitches of the nature-tone
scales with adequate precision.
Two ekmelic organs had been built - one of them is used in Ekmelic music
recitals and during lessons at Mozarteum High School, the other organ
is in possession of the International Ekmelic Music Society. (see: "www.members.aon.at/ekmelischemusik")
Newkeyboard
The Newkeyboard
has been specially developed for the nature-tone music. It is going to
open up new dimensions of music by its multitude of possibilities to play
on.
"www.newkeyboard.de".
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The
Instrument of Dr.Thaddeus Cahill
In McClure's Magazine
of July 1906 a certain Mr.Baker reports an extraordinary apparatus, shown
by Dr. Thaddeus Cahill at New York. A row of sound generators had been
stationned in a hall to produce assigned sinus tones, using telephone
diaphragmas to make them audible, as loudspeakers did not exist in those
days. The produced tones had frequency ratios in relation to a basic tone,
and, depending on whether which apparatus had been switched on or how
intense it worked, the sound colour of a certain instrument could be heard
in the audience.
A huge collection of such gadgets, Mr.Baker wrote, could be put together
to build an orchestra, and: "to construct such apparatus would be
extremely extensive and expensive, and its practical value rightly has
to be questionned." Baker adds "authentic photographies"
of the monstrous apparatus, that "looks like a machine hall"
to his report. "But the room adjoined was enchantingly filled up
with sound - a scientifical perfect sound, never ending, invisible, effortlessly
and tirelessly."
No doubt, Dr. Cahill
succeeded in inventing the first sound synthesis in the world.
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Zoomoozophone
in seiner Schrift
"Genesis of a Music" (1949) hatte Harry Partch (1901-1974) ein
43-stufiges Tonsystem entwickelt, dessen Intervalle ausschließlich
aus der Naturtonreihe hergeleitet werden und in ihren Zahlenproportionen
nur die Zahlen 2,3,5,7,9,und 11 (oder deren Vielfache) enthalten. Für
das Zoomoozophone hatte er aus diesem Tonvorrat 31 ausgewählt und
ein Instrument entworfen, das aus 129 Metallröhren besteht, verteilt
auf 4 Oktaven mit je 31 Tönen. Ergänzt wird das System mit 5
weiteren Röhren, um auch seine Komposition "Two Studies on Ancient
Greek Scales" und John Cages' "Haikai für Flöte und
Zoomoozophone" darauf spielen zu können.
Das Instrument wurde erst nach seinem Tod von Dean Drummond vollendet
und in dessen Ensemble "Newland" in Konzert-Tourneen, u.a. auch
in Europa, eingesetzt.
Für das Zoomoozophone komponierten neben Harry Partch und Dean Drummond
auch Ben Johnston, Skip la Plante, Joan la Barbara, David Krakauer und
John Cage.
Zoomoozophone:
Töne
1/1 - 16/15 - 12/11
- 11/10 - 10/9 - 9/8 - 8/7 - 7/6 - 6/5 - 11/9 - 5/4 - 14/11 - 9/7 - 4/3
- 11/8 - 7/5 -
-10/7 - 16/11 - 3/2 - 14/9 - 11/7 - 8/5 - 18/11 - 5/3 - 12/7 - 7/4 - 16/9
- 9/5 - 20/11 - 11/6 - 15/8 - (2/1)
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| Escalophon
Klangtürme
Die "Klangtürme" - erstmals beim Festival "Kraftklänge
am Irrsee" im Mai 2002 im Einsatz - sind Teil eines Projekts, das
zu einem neuen Instrument, dem "Escalophon", führen soll.
Dieses Instrument - vergleichbar mit einem großen Ensemble von Röhrenglocken,
wird bestückt mit etwa 256 Klangröhren im Umfang von 4 Oktaven
und soll das Spiel mit 8 Naturtonreihen (die alle in Beziehung zueinander
stehen) ermöglichen, aber auch das Spiel mit Untertonreihen. Es stellt
eine Weiter-entwicklung des von Harry Partch in den 70er Jahren entworfenen
und von Dean Drummond vor 2 Jahrzehnten in New York vollendeten "Zoomoozoophones"
dar, denn es bezieht nicht nur die in unserem geläufigen Tonsystem
nicht verwendeten Septim- und 11er-Intervalle mit ein, sondern auch den
13. Naturton und damit alle Töne der Naturtonskala von 1-16.
Abb. Klangtürme
auf dem Irrsee, Salzkammergut, 31.05.2001
Anders als bei Aluminiumröhren ist die Abstimmung der hier verwendeten
Messingröhren, zur Verfügung gestellt von den DIEHL-Metallwerken,
Röthenbach an der Pegnitz bei Nürnberg, von vielen Faktoren
abhängig:
- von der Art der
Legierung und dem spezifischen Gewicht
- vom Durchmesser,
- von der Wandstärke,
- von der Rohrlänge
- und von der Bohrung
(Schwingungsknotenpunkt).
Überraschend
ist dabei der relativ einfache mathematische Zusammenhang zwischen Rohrlänge
und Tonhöhe bei völlig gleich beschaffenen Rohren: das Verhältnis
von den ein Intervall bildenden zwei Tonhöhen entspricht der umgekehrten
Relation der Quadratwurzel der Rohrlängen. Dies ist fast analog zum
Verhältnis schwingender Saiten oder Luftsäulen zu sehen - nur
im Unterschied dazu gibt bei den Rohren die Quadratwurzel der Längenproportion
den Ausschlag für die Tonhöhen.
Beispiel: Der reinen
Terz 5/4 entspricht eine schwingende Saite von 4/5 ihrer Gesamtlänge
(4/5 = 0,8). Die Rohrlänge des Terztones dagegen ist v4/5 der ursprünglichen
Länge ( v4/5 = 0,89443).
Doch die Praxis hat
sich als wesentlich komplizierter erwiesen. Die erzielten Ergebnisse weichen
manchmal trotz präziser Berechnung von den erwarteten Ergebnissen
ab, denn die Charakteristik der Rohre bleibt trotz Eingrenzen durch die
vorhin erwähnten Parameter manchmal doch recht unvorhersehbar. Die
Arbeit an dem neuen Instrument wird wohl noch einige Jahre weitergehen.
ESCALOPHON:
ESCALIER (frz.: (Ton-) Leiter)
KALO (griech.: schön)
Der Klang des ESCALOPHONS
wird sich vom Klang angeschlagener Glocken und Röhrenglocken unterscheiden.
Denn aus den beim Anschlag erzeugten Klangspektren bildet sich nach kurzer
Zeit ein präziser Ton aus, der länger bestehen bleibt. Dieser
wird mit dem Mikrofon "abgefangen" und mit den anderen ausgewählten
Tönen kombiniert. Dazu wird in der Endausbauphase des Escalophon
eine elektromagnetische Anschlagtechnik installiert und von einem Spieltisch
aus gesteuert werden.
Abb.:
Die nächste Projektstufe: eine Klangpyramide von 5,20m Höhe,
bestehend aus 5 Klangtürmen
(Entwurf: Johannes Kotschy)
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