Courses

Microtonal Grooves (ENGB 401-001)

In this class we will experiment with microtonal arrangements of Western classical, Middle Eastern, and other non-Western and jazz/fusion compositions. Joe Maneri's 72 equal temperament octave notation system will be explained. We will start with a selection from the following compositions: "Eclipse" (Mingus); "Madoka Blue" (Fiuczynski); Carrillo quarter-tone string quartets; H'aba quarter-tone etudes; Turkish, Arabic, and Chinese melodies; Beethoven fragments; "MoonRing" (3/4-tone diminished mode); and "Apprehension" (Fiuczynski). Students will have a working knowledge of notation, Western classical microtonal history, intonation, and ways of soloing and comping in a microtonal chord-scale context. We will also experiment with dance hall, drum 'n' bass, reggaeton, merengueton, house, 2-step, 32nd note hi-hat grooves, hip-hop, go-go, clipped and bounce beats, and new experimental beats created by students.