biology

Genesis of a Music

Genesis of a Music is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Genesis of a Music rather than just read about it. In short: Genesis of a Music is a book first published in 1949 by microtonal composer Harry Partch (1901–1974). Partch first presents a polemic against both equal temperament and the long history of stagnation in the teaching of music; according to Alex Ross, this is "the most startling forty-five-page history of music ever written".

Key takeaways

Genesis of a Music belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Genesis of a Music to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Genesis of a Music from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Genesis of a Music is a book first published in 1949 by microtonal composer Harry Partch (1901–1974). Partch first presents a polemic against both equal temperament and the long history of stagnation in the teaching of music; according to Alex Ross, this is "the most startling forty-five-page history of music ever written". In particular, Partch holds Johann Sebastian Bach responsible for "the movement toward equal-tempered tuning, which meant that composers could not absorb the scales of other world traditions; and the urge to make music ever more instrumental and abstract." He then goes on to explain his tuning theory based on just intonation, the ensemble of musical instruments of his own invention (such as the "Surrogate Kithara, a struck-string, harplike instrument", and the guitar with movable frets he used to compose Barstow), and several of his largest musical compositions. The book has been highly influential to succeeding generations of microtonal composers, including Lou Harrison, Ben Johnston, and James Tenney. A revised and enlarged second edition was published just before Partch's death in 1974.

Concepts Partch presents 4 "basic monophonic concepts":

Consonance and dissonance: "The ear informs us that tones which are in small-number proportion, say in the relation of 2 to 1, are strong, clear, powerful, consonant." "The smaller the number involved in the [interval] ratios, the more consonant the ratio; the larger the numbers, the more dissonant". "Dual Identity": "Every ratio of a Monophonic system is at least a dual identity." "Odentity [is] determined by the odd-number ratio component of the numerator, and another one, the Udentity [is] determined by the odd-number component of the denominator. A ratio thus always belongs to two tonalities, an Otonality in accordance with its Odentity, and an Utonality in accordance with its Udentity." Minor: "Under-number Tonality, or Utonality ("minor"), is the immutable faculty of ratios, which in turn represent an immutable faculty of the human ear." See: Arithmetic progression and Undertone series History: Music has appeared to have advanced up the harmonic series throughout history. Pythagorean tuning is 3-limit, "just intonation" often refers to 5-limit tuning, while Partch uses an 11-limit tuning. Partch admirer Ben Johnston uses 31-limit or higher "extended just intonation". See: Emancipation of the dissonance

Editions Genesis of a Music: Monophony: the relation of its music to historic and contemporary trends; its philosophy, concepts, and principles; its relation to ... and its application to musical instruments, University of Wisconsin Press, 362 pp., 1949. ASIN B0007DM7I8 Genesis Of A Music: An Account Of A Creative Work, Its Roots, And Its Fulfillments, Second Edition, Da Capo Press, Paperback, 544 pp., 1979. ISBN 0-306-80106-X. 2009: ISBN 9780786751006.

References

External links Preface from the original edition

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Genesis of a Music

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Genesis of a Music claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Genesis of a Music before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Genesis of a Music ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Genesis of a Music

In research: Genesis of a Music appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Genesis of a Music in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Genesis of a Music is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1949 non-fiction books, Harry Partch, Just tuning and intervals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Genesis of a Music outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Genesis of a Music in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Genesis of a Music means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Genesis of a Music out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Genesis of a Music in simple terms?

Why does Genesis of a Music matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Genesis of a Music?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Genesis of a Music.