This piece was an attempt to bring non-standard tunings out of the domain of orchestral and avant-garde styles and into something modern and even danceable. I attempted to craft a piece that could not only serve as a demonstration of 7-TET, but as something one might take onto a dancefloor. The piece follows a song structure that somewhat resembles a pop song, yet deviates in that it's rather short. All the sounds originate in Reaktor 6, using semi-customized ensembles.
I did not use SCALA in this work. I used a Reaktor 6 ensemble that allowed for tuning within non-12 based TET systems; I used 7-TET for this work. The layout of this macro is simple, and simply involves taking the "central note" (in this case, 12-TET's middle C) and adding to it the following: ((the pitch value + the inverse of the "central note") * (1/the number of steps in an octave (7) * 12). A more algebraic view of the above: Let R be the central note's midi value, which in this case we take to be 60 (middle C). Let P₁ equal the incoming note pitch's midi value, and let S equal the number of desired steps in an octave (in this case 7). Finally, let P₂ equal the new note pitch in S-TET. Therefore: R + ((P₁ + -R) * (12 * (1/S))) = P₂ This algorithm is the work of Peter Dines. His post about it can be found at the link below. https://reaktortips.com/2015/01/microtuning-in-reaktor-with-instrument-download.html
I grew up in the heart of Worcester, which is a city about an hour west of Boston, Massachusetts. I had an interest in music from a young age; my mother made sure I was in piano lessons for most of my upbringing. I began producing music when I was 16; on a copy of FL Studio owned by one of my cousins. It was fascinating to me that I could make any sound I wished, so I installed it myself and quickly began seeing what limits existed with the sounds I could create. The sonic potential one could ascertain with Reaktor was immediately appealing to me, and I became an avid user. This is also when I began to confront my issues with gender; so music was a hugely important part of my life, as I was able to channel my desire to escape my own body into songs about space and leaving earth. I have given you two names as a result of this; my birth name (in case you need it) and the name which I choose to live by.