Tonalibus Archives – TONALIBUS

This April 2024 Tonalibus update highlights an upcoming Tonalibus single release featuring whistle breath. Further, it announces the development of Tonalibus album sampler playlists and new sounds. Finally, this update touches on the therapeutic use of live music.

May 4 Tonalibus single release — “Breath of life chant”

“Breath of life chant” — the answer within — appears globally on May 4, 2024 as new Tonalibus single on:

Amazon, Anghami, Apple Music, MediaNet, Boomplay, Deezer, Instagram/Facebook, Adaptr, Flo, YouTube Music, iHeartRadio, Claro Música, iTunes, Joox, Kuack Media, NetEase, Qobuz, Pandora, Saavn, Spotify, Tencent, Tidal and TikTok & other ByteDance stores.

“Breath of life chant” — the answer within — PentaMin / PentaEol on G# (207 Hz) — whistle breath, fretted vichitra veena, tanpura — 8:03

April 2024 Tonalibus playlists & sounds update

March 2024 sounds concluded and playlist Tonalibus O “Balance of life and love” by now offers six pieces within 62½ minutes of meditative music, including new:
— “Tears of joy” — mantra of soul with a waking toddler’s song, or as plain mantra of soul — multi-octave G# chant with a fusion of mantra syllables like Ōṃ / Aum and HU, unifying much of the spiritual foundation of Tonalibus
— “Perfect imperfection” — one step closer (below)
— “Consciousness” — the one state worth considering
— “Breath of life chant” — whistle breath plain — new additional version highlighting whistle breath alone

“Perfect imperfection” — one step closer — IonAeolian / ClusterBal (melodic major) with a touch of Ionian on E (164.3 Hz) — 8-string guitar, small gong, tanpura — 12:01

New Tonalibus main album sampler playlists

For each of the four so far published Tonalibus main albums, ABC, DE, FGH, and IJK, there is now a selection of some ten pieces or about 1¼ hour of diverse, mostly meditative, calming world music available (below), among Fidibus shop playlists, as well as on Spotify as public artist playlists.

^{IJK sampler}

^{FGH sampler}

^{DE sampler}

^{ABC sampler}

Therapeutic music in action

“Music’s value lies in its inherent ability to enhance connection and communication, as well as to benefit physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing… Therapeutic music is live acoustic music, played or sung, and specifically tailored to [an] immediate need. It is an art based on the science of sound… [and] uses the inherent healing elements of live music and sound to enhance the environment…, making it more conducive to the human healing process.” — NSBTM website, National Standards Board for Therapeutic Musicians

Tonalibus Ulrico on April 13, 2024 at the Kientalerhof Campus for Body Therapy, Kiental, musically accompanying applied practice sessions of an advanced training course on craniosacral osteopathy for body therapists led by Jürgen Westhoff — photo by Karin Gsöllpointner

May you live with ease, happy, and at peace!

March 20, 2024March 20, 2024

Tonality of the month: ReachMix

The tonality of the month is ReachMix — a Reach or harmonic heptatonality.

ReachMix on F# (184 Hz) — 8-string guitar — March 2024 — 5:15 — as loop on a separate tab (or via right click, if available) — for upliftment, purification, and focusing — “Consciousness” — the one state worth considering

ReachMix, a fully anchored Reach heptatonality, is the tonality of this month of April 2024. This tonality combines a DorMixolydian upper with a regular Reach lower tetrachord. ReachMix is similar to the tonality of the previous month, ReachMin, except that the sixth is now major instead of minor. The basic melodic element (pakad) of the Bairagi Bhairav raga presented last month with ReachMin is still somewhat noticeable in the new ReachMix sound sample above. However, there is a heartfelt expansion to an additional parallel more elaborate resolution pattern onto the lower quint. This highlights the rounded balancing quality of the DorMixolydian upper tetrachord.

You may enjoy a sound sample or tonality loop as sound mantra for contemplation or meditation. This can help with upliftment, purification, and focusing. Or it could simply be used as soothing background sound for relaxation and regeneration. If you care to hum, chant, or sing along, you could use a spiritually charged syllable like Ōṃ / Aum ॐ, or HU, or another mantra syllable that suits you.

March 7, 2024April 2, 2024

March 2024 Tonalibus update

Whistle breath and ragas

Concerts recap

Playlists & sounds

This March 2024 Tonalibus update announces two new Tonalibus developments, whistle breath and the beginning correlation of tonalities in the catalogue with Indian ragas. Further it touches on two recent concerts and provides an update on sounds and playlists.

Whistle breath and starting raga correlation

During extremely soft mantra chanting, so soft it is more breathing than chanting, in a flowing transition from the syllable HU to OM, a faint, largely involuntary whistle sound can become apparent, whistle breath! This is very subtle but powerful and can aide in finding one’s fundamental pitch. The piece “Breath of life chant” is based on whistle breath.

Tonalibus started correlating Indian ragas with its catalogue of tonalities. A first fruit of that is the correspondence of the Bairagi Bhairv raag with ReachMin / Phrygian dominant.

“Breath of life chant” — the answer within — PentaMin / PentaEol on G# (207 Hz) — whistle breath, fretted vichitra veena, tanpura — 8:03

“Bairagi Bhairag raag” — a first raga interpretation — Bairagi Bhairag pakad, a derivative of ReachMin / Phrygian dominant on C# (138 Hz) — 8-string guitar, tanpura — 11:32

Two recent concerts with Tonalibus Ulrico

“Kulturzimmer Heimlich” in Bern on 2/17 attrached some thirty folks and resulted in two live concert recordings:
— “Fearless floating” — in the flow of life and love
— “Open door and heart” — an opportunity to step out

“Open door and heart” — an opportunity to step out — Ionian (diatonic major) on C# (138 Hz) — 8-string guitar, tanpura — 5:55 recorded live

“Hallo Stille” on 3/1 at the festival Stilles Zürich assembled some twenty individuals. All gradually opened up to the experience of silence led by Nicole Keller of Visionshaus. This was supported by gentle 8-string guitar sounds.

March 2024 Tonalibus playlists & sounds update

Jan-Feb 2024 sounds and playlist N “Opening of white light” are now complete with among other new recordings:
— “Embraced in silence” — so close, and yet so far
— “Know what you know” — very and nothing special
— “Gently rotating fifth wheel” — a plea for peace

March 2024 sounds and playlist O “Balance of life and love” (part of the new set “O, P & Q”) are now starting with:
— “Inner and outer connecting point” — culture fusion

“Inner and outer connecting point” — culture fusion — ReachMin / Phrygian dominant with a touch of Bairagi Bhairav, on C# (138 Hz) — 8-string guitar, tanpura — 10:32

Best wishes, with love from the heart!

February 23, 2024February 23, 2024

Tonality of the month: ReachMin

The tonality of the month is ReachMin or Phrygian dominant — a Reach or harmonic heptatonality.

ReachMin on C# — meditative / contemplative sound sample — December 2022 — 5:05 — as loop on a separate tab — (a.k.a. “Never give up, let go completely” — a miracle of nature)

ReachMin or Phrygian dominant, a fully anchored Reach heptatonality, is the tonality of this month of March 2024. It combines a PhrygAeolian upper with a regular Reach lower tetrachord. That is the interval of an augmented second from its minor second to its major third. Thus, it juxtaposes strong but well rounded anchored contrasts. Among its notes, the major third is contrasting. The enriching, uplifting, and assertive quality of this pitch arises from being one of the first harmonics of the tonic. While the minor second and minor sixth give ReachMin its distinct Phrygian character.

ReachMin and raga Bairagi Bhairav (with Sa re ma Pa ni)

What triggered ReachMin to come forth again at this time is that it is the closest in the Tonalibus catalogue to what constitutes the basis of Bairagi Bhairav, a raga in Hindustani classical music that apparently has been considered to be one of if not the most important raga for centuries. A current effort of Tonalibus is to correlate its catalogue of tonalities with Indian ragas. This now appears to become a most fruitful undertaking. A first gem thus discovered is this raga, Bairagi Bhairav. Its feel is close to and its pitches identical to ReachMin without its third and sixth. Thus a new pentatonality with striking harmonic qualities emerges that is so far not in the Tonalibus catalogue and at least a fascinating derivative of ReachMin. More on the correlation of Tonalibus and ragas to come.

February 9, 2024February 10, 2024

February 2024 Tonalibus update

Two concerts

BluNa / Mid tonalities

Playlists & sounds

New album I, J & K

This February 2024 Tonalibus update announces two concerts coming up in the coming weeks and the addition of BluNa / Mid hexatonalities to the Tonalibus catalog. Further, it provides an update on sounds, playlists, and the new album I, J & K.

Two concerts with Tonalibus Ulrico coming up

“Kulturzimmer Heimlich” in Bern, February 17, 19:30 at a private residence, for more info if interested e-mail ulrico@tonalibus.ch

“Hallo Stille” — Erfahrungsreise zur Stille, am Festival Stilles Zürich, “Hello Silence” — an experiential journey to silence, at the festival Stilles Zürich, with Nicole Keller, musically accompanied by Ulrico, March 1, 16:30, Erkerzimmer, Karl der Grosse, Kirchgasse 14, Zurich

“Hallo Stille” by Nicole Keller, voice by Karin Gsöllpointner, 8-string guitar by Ulrico (Mixolydian) — August 2021 — 5:09

New BluNa / Mid tonalities and derivatives

Contrary to recent notions of refraining from adding further tonalities to the Tonalibus catalogue and considering new and especially hexatonalities mostly as derivatives, seven BluNa and Mid hexatonalities recently qualified for the catalogue with new MidReach heptatonalities being their derivatives. They include both the minor and major third plus a Reach step (augmented second) from the major third to the quint (over the middle of the octave, with one older exception: HexaBluNa or HexaLolo). BluNa but not Mid tonalities further have an initial Reach step up from the fundamental.

New are: HexaBluNaMin, HexaBluNaReach, HexaBluNaMix, HexaBluNaMaj, HexaMidLa, HexaMid, and HexaLoMid; plus the derivative MidReach heptatonalities (not detailed in the catalogue): LoMidReachMin, LoMidReach, LoMidReachMix, LoMidReachMaj, MidReachMin, MidReach, MidReachMix, and MidReachMaj. — Tap the overview on the left to enlarge it.

“This side of the other side” — illusion and reality — HexaBluNaReach on C# — 8-string guitar, bass, voice, gong — 6:58

February 2024 Tonalibus playlists & sounds update

The new Jan-Feb 2024 sounds and playlist Tonalibus N entitled “Opening of white light” present latest Tonalibus recordings:
— “This side of the other side” — illusion and reality (above)
— “Home turf roots” — swingin’ on a star (below)
— “Gently rotating fifth wheel” — a plea for peace
— “Know what you know” — very and nothing special

“Home turf roots” — swingin’ on a star — Aeolian on F# — 7-string guitar, tingsha cymbal pair, gong, tanpura — 7:59

“Tonalibus I, J & K” — the new triple album

The new triple album “Tonalibus I, J & K”, released globally on many music platforms on January 29, experienced usage in its first week of already over 300 streams alone on Spotify. This is a small number compared with releases of popular musicians. However for Tonalibus this is a new record — most encouraging and appreciated!

Category: Tonalibus

April 2024 Tonalibus update