Iceface Tuning

Ice-face tuning is a method of performing quarter tones on a standard piano or harp by tuning the black notes or accidentals 50 cents higher than normal. The result is an uneven 12-tone scale that consists of the formula: LsLsMLsLsLM where the L consists of 150 cents, the M of 100 cents, and the s of 50 cents. The scale may be referred to as Ice-face[12] and consists of three sizes of tones. It can be notated as:

C Dd D Ed E F Gd G Ad A Bd B C.

The idea of Ice-face came from Hidekazu Wakabayashi in a dream he had. Wakabayashi claimed that he saw a woman playing a piano that was presumably tuned in the same way that Ice-face[12] is tuned.

"Iced" is a way to refer to a neutral interval to describe the quality it has. Unlike "neutral", iced sounds much less ambiguous and gives the impression that it has a distinct quality rather than just sticking it between major and minor as neutral intervals sound like neither major or minor but in fact have a sound described as "Iced".

Tuning in Scala format:

! Iceface.scl

!

Iceface Tuning (all back keys a quartertone up), by Hidekazu Wakabayashi

12

!

150.00000

200.00000

350.00000

400.00000

500.00000

650.00000

700.00000

850.00000

900.00000

1050.00000

1100.00000

2/1

The scale can be thought of as Mohajira[7] superimposed over a diatonic major scale. Take for example, C major C D E F G A B C, and combine it with the Mohajira[7] mode "Iced Major" C D Ed F G Ad Bd C. This gives a scale of C D Ed E F G Ad A Bd B C, a 10-element subset of Iceface[12] as described above.

Iceface[12] contains 2 separate Mohajira[7] pitch class sets, one "Iced Major" mode starting on C (C D Ed F G Ad Bd C) and one on Ad (Ad Bd C Dd Ed F G Ad).

[todo maqams]

Examples

• I love you, but I love you (Iceface tuned piano) by Hidekazu Wakabayashi
• Papers on the Ground by Hidekazu Wakabayashi
• Lucid Fairy Tale by Hidekazu Wakabayashi
• Iceface Invention by JyuneticA ("icefaced" by H. Wakabayashi)
• The Iceface Way by Hidekazu Wakabayashi
• Iceface Tuned Guitar by Hidekazu Wakabayashi
• Sweet and Microtonal by Hidekazu Wakabayashi

see also

• Ice Tonality