The Rosegarden Codicil: A Microtonal Rehearsal Tool

Description

Microtonal music is a term for music which uses intervals smaller than the standard semitone, although it is also generally used to describe any music which is not based on the twelve-tone equal tempered system which prevails in Western music. Microtonal compositions present a huge challenge to performers, requiring them to re-train their ears to new intervals. Due to the inherent difficulty in playing microtonal music, it is usually performed/produced using specially constructed microtonal instruments or computer synthesis.

The Rosegarden Codicil is a practice tool integrated into the Rosegarden sequencer framework. It aids the process of learning a new tuning by providing the performer with real-time feedback regarding the performed pitch, and a post-performance analysis of pitch intonation which allows the archival of multiple performances. It is part of the Microtonalism project.

CMT Personnel

• Dr Nick Bailey,
  Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering,
  N.J.Bailey@elec.gla.ac.uk
• Prof Graham Hair
  Department of Music,
  G.Hair@music.gla.ac.uk
• Douglas McGilvray,
  Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering,
  d.mcgilvray@elec.gla.ac.uk

Web Links

• The Rosegarden Sequencer
• The n-ism website
• The Microtonalism project

Downloads

• Beta release version 0.1 (Linux only)
• Codicil Documentation