Knowra Harry Partch Harry Partch Harry Partch was an American composer and instrument maker who developed a 43-tone just-intonation system and built instruments for music written in it.
Just intonation : A tuning system that uses intervals formed from whole-number frequency ratios. Partch built his tuning system from pure ratios rather than the standard twelve-tone equal temperament.
Cloud-Chamber Bowls : A set of tuned glass bowls that Harry Partch adapted as a pitched percussion instrument. Their resonant, precisely tuned pitches bring his just-intonation system into audible form.
Delusion of the Fury : A 1960s music-theater work by Harry Partch combining music, mime, and Japanese and African source materials. It is a major example of Partch’s integrated approach to instruments, performance, and theatrical ritual.
Genesis of a Music : Harry Partch’s book explaining his theories of tuning, music, and instrument design. It records the principles and historical arguments behind his alternative musical system.
Experimental music : Music that tests unfamiliar methods, materials, structures, or performance conditions. Partch’s self-built instruments and tuning system exemplify a broad experimental tradition.
Microtonality : The use of musical intervals smaller or differently sized than those in twelve-tone equal temperament. Partch’s 43-tone octave is a prominent approach to music beyond the standard twelve pitches.
Adapted viola : A modified viola designed by Harry Partch for playing in his microtonal tuning system. It lets a string player produce pitches and gestures outside standard viola tuning.
The Bewitched : A music-theater work by Harry Partch for voices, dancers, and his custom-built instruments. Its ensemble and staging show how his tuning system supports an elaborate theatrical work.
Speech-music : A compositional approach that turns the rhythms and pitches of spoken language into musical material. Partch’s early experiments treated spoken inflection as a source for melodic and rhythmic form.
Instrument building : The design and construction of instruments to produce and control musical sound. Partch made instrument construction a direct extension of composition rather than a separate craft.
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