{"id":16266,"date":"2026-07-23T13:40:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T11:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musikfabrik.eu\/?p=16266"},"modified":"2026-07-27T12:45:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T10:45:26","slug":"spectral-fun-with-hyena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musikfabrik.eu\/en\/blog\/spectral-fun-with-hyena\/","title":{"rendered":"Spectral fun with Hyena"},"content":{"rendered":"
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\t\t\t\t

While many of us are enjoying the summer break, some members of Ensemble Musikfabrik have been diving deep into microtonal mathematics!<\/p>\n

Before heading into off-season mode, our musicians Marco Blaauw, Christine Chapman, Elise Jacoberger, and Helen Bledsoe spent July 11\u201314 at the Grafenegg Festival Academy coaching the academists for a major project: preparing a new work by Georg Friedrich Haas. Their work culminated on July 18 with the world premiere of Hyena II, performed under the direction of conductor Ilan Volkov.<\/p>\n

In this blog post, Helen Bledsoe<\/strong> reflects on the experience and introduces two new tuning apps she built specifically to tackle the unique practice challenges of spectral music.<\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\n
\n
\n
\n\t\t\t\t

Spectral Fun with Hyena<\/h3> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\t\t\t\t

Advice on how to prepare the microtonal, spectral works for large ensemble and orchestra of Georg Friedrich Haas and other spectral composers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Helen Bledsoe<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

These remarks are a culmination of my years of experience playing spectral works and coaching the academists at the Grafenegg Festival 2026 for the premiere of Hyena II for Orchestra and Storyteller under the direction of Ilan Volkov. (See also important changes to the first flute part towards the end.)<\/p>\n

Figuring it all out:<\/h6>\n

This is an example of the notation we were faced with:<\/p>\n

\"Score<\/figure>\n

Haas was very considerate in providing the following approximate accidentals:<\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\t\t\t\t
\"\"<\/figure>\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n\t\t\t\t

Translation: Notation of Microintervals:<\/em><\/p>\n

Quarter-tones, sixth-tones, eighth-tones, and twelfth-tones respectively<\/em><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\t\t\t\t

Using these accidentals is a practical strategy for large orchestras. The indications allow players not familiar with spectral music to rely on their instincts to at least approximate the pitch. However, the circled numbers above the notes indicate the partial number and therefore the true pitch.<\/p>\n

These partial numbers represent a position in an overtone (harmonic) series<\/a> based (in this piece) on C0. Here I use the terms harmonics, overtones and partials interchangeably, although there are some subtle differences. Note that because this is a mathematical series that starts with 1 (not 0), the 1st partial IS the fundamental.<\/p>\n

So the first thing you need to know for playing a harmonic series is: what is the fundamental? The score says only ca. 16 hz as an indication, because this will change according to what your group tunes to \u2013 A=440 or higher.<\/p>\n

Once you know that fundamental, you \u201conly\u201d have to multiply that number by the circled number above your note. That gives you your frequency. However, for many musicians, it is easier to think in terms of cent deviations, where the half step is further divided into 100 equal steps. Modern tuning apps give us cent indications, so they have become a way many of us think when it comes to being sharp or flat.<\/p>\n

I can understand a composer not wanting to put a cent deviation above each note of an orchestral score, that would indeed be messy. But it would have been practical to have this chart from Wikipedia<\/a>, for example, in the performance instructions:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

In order to make all this easier, to calculate the partials above 31, and to have a quick alternative to view these notes according to cent deviations, I created this app:<\/p>\n

Link to app<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Note that the transpose feature will only change the \u201cNearest Note\u201d display!<\/p>\n

Troubleshooting for Partial Plus app:<\/strong><\/p>\n