[The following article was recently published as a pamphlet by Filmkunst-Musikverlag, Munich, West Germany, and is reprinted here by the kind permission of the author. Ed.]
The "microtonal" bassoon, a bassoon as free as a voice, is an unsuspected musical resource in our midst. It is most often disguised as an instrument of limited pitch availability. A magical transformation takes place when a bassoonist realizes the potential for pitch expressivity and begins developing the necessary techniques. An adventurous attitude is all that is needed to begin and in a short time, one will be able to play quartertones with assurance. For example, by fingering a middle " C " with an added rightthumb Bb key, one can play a -C quartertone-sharp". By internalizing the quarter-tone fingerings contained in this pamphlet, one can play quartertone intervals fluently.
Another approach to microtonality is the "just intonation" aesthetic. Once thought impossible on musical instruments, except in the most limited fashion, pure intervals from the overtone series are readily accessible for the eager bassoonist. While contemplating the wild notion of perfect consonance, try harmonizing the major thirds from the 31-tone chart with another bassoonist. Compare these pure major thirds with the conventionally tempered major thirds found on a piano. Quite a difference! Apart from the obviously narrower intervallic size, the pure (5/4) major third is startlingly serene.
If you have a yen for the exotic, you might try the seven equally spaced tones of the Thai. Perhaps you've an interest in the meantone temperament commonly used in the Baroque period? For those interested in this dimension of pitch expressivity, here is a chartered path to microtonality. "But", you may ask, "why should I bother working my 'butt' off to produce such nuances?" The answer is multifaceted and profound.
Firstly, nuance is the ultimate tell-tale sign of both quality art and craftsmanship. And microtones can be much more than nuance. They make up the diverse musics of practically all non-Western nations. Secondly, microtones are part of our Western heritage. Modern music scholarship has unearthed a myriad of tunings popular before the Classical period. If one wants to properly assess early Western music, let alone perform it authentically, it is necessary to hear intervals intended by the creators rather than their modern approximations. Thirdly, microtones come relatively easy, they cost absolutely nothing to produce in the financial sense, and are endearing. Finally, through the stimulation of microtonal exploration, ears become sharper in acuity, finger technique accelerates rapidly and instrument intimacy blooms.
The bassoon, our beloved vehicle of expression, has hardly been the epitome of good intonation, historically speaking. Hector Berlioz besmirched its good name for over a century by writing that "this instrument leaves much to desire on the score of precision of intonation" in his treatise on instrumentation and orchestration. In the never-ending pursuit of perfect intonation, as many as twenty-three keys have been added to the bent-over conical tube with a double reed. It is this very propensity for extensive keywork that enables the modern bassoonist to play so many different finger combinations. By retaining the orthodoxy of a disciplined embouchure, by studying the enclosed charts, and by consulting periodically with an enlightened musician or tuning machine, one may perform microtonally with confidence. As with so-called "normal" fingerings, one should never simply "press and blow". One must hear a desired musical tone in the mind before emitting sound in order to insure its accuracy.
These fingerings have been tried and tested in performance and every effort has been made for uniformity of instrumental make and mode. Unfortunately, these fingerings will not work for the structurally different French "basson". And of course, any one microtonal fingering may not work due to the idiosyncratic nature of musical instruments in general. The charts are but a scaffold with which to build a new vocabulary. Certain microtones may appear timbrally offensive at first, but they can all be tamed, some through the technique of tone hole shading. Some of the microtonal fingerings are admittedly awkward, but mastering them as one would an etude will develop a healthy and flexible set of hands. The lowest tetrachord of the bassoon, having the least key combinations, is the least pitch malleable. The remainder of the bassoon's pitch expanse represents an infinity of vital and viable intervallic relationships. Quartertones are born of our conventional system and may be thought of as its mirror image or as a natural consequence of chromaticism. The equally divided 31-tone system was first described in the late Renaissance but has become a musical reality only in the last forty years thanks to the pioneering work of A.D. Fokker. It is the equivalent of a circular 1/4 comma meantone in that any tone may serve as a tonic and modulate freely. An added feature is the harmonic seventh (7/4) which is characteristically consonant in contrast to the larger minor seventh of convention. Both systems represented possess neutral thirds and sixths, intervals that are definably neither major nor minor.
Microtonal inflections have long been incorporated into contemporary
composition. Imagine if they were taken out of jazz, blues, and
other popular forms of modern music! As there are more capable
players, there will be more repertoire of a microtonal nature.
As there is a surge in microtonal composition, there is already
a greater need for sensitive and equipped players. One hand washes
the other for the benefit of us all.
FIGURES:
Diagram of Bassoon: Heckel System
31-Tone Equal Temperament (Based on A=440), p. 1
31-Tone Equal Temperament, p. 2; 24-tone Equal Temperament (Quartertone System A=440)
