VERY Modern Music Notation

[dlu]

OMG!!! I bought the scores to Lutoslawski (my FAVORITE, side by side with Ligeti, composer) his Cello and Piano Concerto. His "Romantic" Piano Concerto is pretty tame although the notation is not what any of us are probably used to.

But the Cello Concerto!!! That's another story!! In the strings he has them playing half-sharps and flats (quarter tones) throughout!!! I was going to make a piano transcription of this piece but it seems quite impossible now!! I COULD use one of the pianos (I plan to use FOUR pianos) tuned a quarter tone too sharp or flat...but...I dunno...Is it too much trouble than it's worth?

What other kinds of unusual music notation have you come across?

Thanks,
DLu

[DarkWind]

Yes, he's one of the Polish avant-gardists, along with people like Penderecki. You know how there were Viennese Schools of Music? Well, nowadays there seems to be a Polish School of Music trained in avant-gardism. The weirdest notation I know of is Crumb's Makrokosmos. But it sounds really mystical and cool! It has you playing inside the strings, putting stuff inside, yelling out things, stuff like that.

[Op. 1 No. 2]

I believe there are certain composers using not a 12 tone system, but a system with more pitches in one octave. This is very experimental, but it'd need a way different notation, and can only be played on electronical instruments, as far as I know. Don't ask me what it sounds like, I've just read about it.

[Brian Healey]

I believe there are certain composers using not a 12 tone system, but a system with more pitches in one octave. This is very experimental, but it'd need a way different notation, and can only be played on electronical instruments, as far as I know. Don't ask me what it sounds like, I've just read about it.

Microtonal music. Harry Partch was known for writing that kind of stuff. He used to write music for his own instruments that he created himself. Very cool music. Other composers have used modes from other musical cultures, that aren't based on a twleve-tone system. Like Indian music, for example, which I believe is a 7 tone system.

[ted]

I think a good way to explore these things is using a computer. Writing a little programme soon reveals the regular divisions of the octave which contain intervals near enough to the harmonics. Obviously 12 (equal temperament) and 24 (quarter tones) do it, but the surprise is that 29 gives very close to a perfect fifth and a broad range of other close intervals as well. Of course, being prime, it lacks symmetric partitions (such as augmenteds and diminisheds in the chromatic scale), but from another point of view this could be an advantage.

A few years ago I spent some time writing algorithmic composition programmes, and splitting the octave into 29 is just as easy as splitting it into 12. The 29 note split embeds an excellent approximation to the tonal scale. I tried it out by writing code to compose music modulating around the 29 key cycle in various ways. I found the effects very interesting and pleasant. I tried it on a few musicians and none of them realised, on first hearing, that they were listening to a 29 key cycle instead of the usual 12.

If I get enough time (and hopefully reduce my working hours sometime soon !) it is a direction I would very much like to take further.

[Ludwig Van Rachabji]

But the Cello Concerto!!! That's another story!! In the strings he has them playing half-sharps and flats (quarter tones) throughout!!! I was going to make a piano transcription of this piece but it seems quite impossible now!! I COULD use one of the pianos (I plan to use FOUR pianos) tuned a quarter tone too sharp or flat...but...I dunno...Is it too much trouble than it's worth?

That is one of the strangest things I've heard. Who comes up with this? 

[DarkWind]

You should buy Kurt Stone's Music Notation in the 20th century, just to see what these past decades have brought forth. If you think the Cello Concerto is weird, buy Penderecki's Threnody for Victims of Hiroshima. I believe it doesn't even tell you specific notes to play!

[anda]

In the strings he has them playing half-sharps and flats (quarter tones) throughout!!! I was going to make a piano transcription of this piece but it seems quite impossible now!! I COULD use one of the pianos (I plan to use FOUR pianos) tuned a quarter tone too sharp or flat...but...I dunno...

bartok also uses quarter tones, and quite frequently.
about re-tuning the instrument, for strings it's not an uncommon practice - it's called "scordatura"

[cziffra777]

bartok also uses quarter tones, and quite frequently.
about re-tuning the instrument, for strings it's not an uncommon practice - it's called "scordatura"

There is an entire set of violin sonatas ( the Rosary Sonatas) by Biber that require retuning. I think each sonata uses a different tuning.