2023 tonal Archives – Page 2 of 5

This Sept-Oct 2023 Tonalibus update highlights the conclusion of Playlist K and the creation of Playlist L and Sept-Oct 2023 sounds. Further, it touches on the development of Individual tonality. This new Fidibus offer in the making will be an aid to select personal tonalities to form one’s own compositions and eventually personal sound mantras. Finally, this update mentions some issues with the Tonalibus website.

Sept-Oct 2023 Tonalibus playlist and sounds update

Playlist K is now complete with 14 pieces covering 80½ minutes of summer 2023 recordings. Last additions were:
“Calmly breathe in, out, and in again” — Kumbhaka base
“कुम्भक Kumbhaka” — between in and out, out and in — for M-A

“कुम्भक Kumbhaka” — ReachBal (double harmonic/Gypsy major) on G# — fretted vichitra veena, lap slide guitar, conch, tanpura — 8:54

The new Playlist L and Sept-Oct 2023 sounds already contain:
“Ma Sa Papa” — hearts long for peace
“Among suns, moons, and stars” — a hopeful blues — (below)
“Das Mülirad isch broche, Simelibärg!” — go in peace — for KHT

“Among suns, moons, and stars” — MinBlue on G — 5-string guitar, lap slide guitar, gong, tanpura — 8:40

Individual tonality selection development update

To systematically select personal tonalities and eventually aid in forming one’s own personal sound mantras, Individual tonalities is forming in the Fidibus shop. The previous update announced Sound as mantra, Fundamental pitch, and Chromatic pitches. Now the first option under Individual tonalities, Harmonic base, is complete for all twelve chromatic pitches. And the format of the first of two steps of Individual tetratonality to select one of eight root or tetratonalities is in fine-tuning and accessible as draft only. Stay tuned for more to come.

Update on Tonalibus website issues

At times, the Tonalibus site, supposedly its multi-lingual plugin, consumes excessive CPU and memory from its hosting server. In late September, this caused CPU errors that impacted the site’s database and made it unavailable for a few days until the excellent tech-support of Cyon, the hosting provider, was able to remove the blockage. But issues remain with the translations plugin and still impact the response time of translated pages on the Tonalibus site. Thank you for your patience!

May you prosper and live in peace and freedom!

September 15, 2023September 15, 2023

Tonality of the month: MinBlue

MinBlue on G — 5-string guitar and tanpura — September 2023 — 3:23 — as loop on a separate tab

The tonality of the month for September-October 2023 is MinBlue — a tritone or blues tonality. This catchy blues tonality may provide you a strong invitation to swing along. It might also reverberate in your being long after having listened to, played, or sung it, if you’re prone to that.

The Tonalibus name MinBlue indicates that the lower tetrachord is AeolDorian with tritone. The Reach step (augmented second) that typifies tritone or blues tonalities, besides of course the tritone, is in the upper tetrachord. The pitch distribution beyond the heavily contrasting tritone presents a lightly regressive and minor tonal flavor, akin to Aeolian and Dorian, equally anchored in both, quart and quint, the regressive and progressive.

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.

Tonality of the month: MinBlue — summary visualization of pitches, intervals, and a harmonic axe

August 17, 2023October 19, 2023

August 2023 Tonalibus update

Playlist and
sounds update

Sound as mantra
(tonality in action)

Harmonics cycle
and universal harmony

Quote and photo
update conclusion

This August 2023 Tonalibus update highlights the evolution of Playlist K and July-August 2023 sounds, as well as Sound as mantra, a newly forming Fidibus offer to aid one’s creation of personal sound mantras. Further, it touches on the harmonics cycle and universal harmony, and concludes with a poetic quote and a photo.

August 2023 Tonalibus playlist and sounds update

Playlist K has now grown to 12 pieces covering 66 minutes of new recordings. New pieces include:
“Calling the divine” — hearts connect directly
“Balancing up and down” — extensive calm (below)
“Go with God” — a final blessing — in memory of Stivensky
and “Pulsating through life” — lead on! (below).
They are also available under July-August 2023 sounds.

“Pulsating through life” — lead on! — HexaMin on G# w/a touch Aeolian — 5-string guitar, lap slide guitar, bass, conch — 4:00

Sound as mantra — tonality in action

Individual sound mantras were an original Tonalibus offer that was dropped a while back. Now Sound as mantra is forming in the Fidibus shop. Its aim is to enable you to create your own personal sound mantras. Individual fundamental pitch, a first step, is now available, as well as the aide of chromatic pitches. Individual tonality selection is more complex and currently under construction to be realized and posted in stages.

“Balancing up and down” — extensive calm — LoloReachMin on D — 8-string guitar & tanpura — 3:58

Harmonics cycle and universal harmony

Images of the harmonics cycle as fusion of regularity and irregularity are now available also under concepts highlights.

Is there a universal harmony we live by and can recognize? Reflected also in tonalities? Experience in the present moment can affirm this. Can you hear the music of the spheres? There is an infinite abundance of ways of life and harmony — no one and only way! While here now, we are one and the same — as well as each one individually unique, each distinctly different from all others.

August 2023 Tonalibus update conclusion

“Sea, mountain, grass and trees,
even machine, car, gasoline, computer —
— they do not belong to people.
They are already alive. Even our body is not ours.
We are simply lives facing one another —
so we resonate, rebel, grow angry, cry, laugh,
and dance with them.”

Atsushi Takenouchi, 舞踏 Butō dancer and instructor

August 14, 2023August 14, 2023

Tonality of the month: LoloReachMin

LoloReachMin on D — “Balancing up and down” — extensive calm — 8-string guitar and tanpura — August 2023 — 3:58 — as loop on a separate tab

The Tonality of the month for August/September 2023 is LoloReachMin — a fully anchored Reach heptatonality. The Tonalibus name of this tonality indicates that the lower tetrachord contains the lowest possible or Lolo version of Reach. And further, that the upper tetrachord is PhrygAeolian.

LoloReachMin features an intriguing and challenging mixture of flavorful elements, intervals, and pitches. First, there is the bluesy initial or lowest possible Reach step (augmented second). Then, the minor and major thirds are both present. As such, this tonality unifies most distinct characteristics of both, minor and major, in the lower tetrachord. However the upper tetrachord being PhrygAeolian has a distinct minor flavor. It can take some time to tune into this tonality to use it harmoniously and approach more challenging pitches form favorable directions. The above sound sample builds up gently. It adds more challenging pitches gradually, thus aiming to help western ears to slowly adjust to the fascinating combination of elements in this tonality.

Tonality of the month: LoloReachMin — summary visualization of pitches, intervals, and a harmonic axe

July 18, 2023July 18, 2023

July 2023 Tonalibus update

Recent concerts

Playlist update

Website update

This July 2023 Tonalibus update touches on two recent concert adventures and highlights the rapid emergence of Playlist K “Refreshing as a summer breeze”. Further, it announces slight changes in the website menu structure and the expansion of the main page of the Spiritualibus blog.

Two recent Tonalibus concerts in early July

On Thursday July 6, Ursula Huggenberger and Tonalibus Ulrico presented a natural sound journey in the glorious acoustics of the Fideris church, Grisons. Live recordings, photos, and a brief story of this event are available under July 2023 live sounds. Further, a three and a half minute video clip is on Instagram. (Click on the crossed out speaker icon for sound).

On Saturday July 1, the Schlimo summer fest ’23 celebrated with an open-air concert and theater on the grounds of a magnificent estate in Gurzelen near Thun. Tonalibus Ulrico provided the opening of the live program with “Sound carpets, as refreshing as a summer breeze”. (There are no recordings from this event. Click on photo to the left to enlarge.)

July 2023 Tonalibus playlists update

Playlist K “Refreshing as a summer breeze” follows Playlist J, which was announced complete in June. So far Playlist K has already grown to present eight pieces covering forty-four minutes of new improvisations, such as some from the Fideris sound journey and a few with a new lap slide guitar, including “Fused oriental occident and occidental orient” (below).

“Fused…” — ReachMin (Phrygian dominant) on G# — fretted vichitra veena, lap slide guitar, crotales, tanpura — 8:01

Tonalibus website update of July 2023

The main menu structure changed slightly in the order of its options. In the Fidibus shop, all Playlists now appear grouped with all their titles. Tonalities of the month moved under Tonalities, and Chromaticism and modulation under Concepts. Further, the main page of the Spiritualibus blog received a new look. It now includes short blog excerpts in the list of the most recent posts of all categories and of Omnibus posts.

Best wishes from the heart!
Ulrico