Performing Easley Blackwood’s Twelve Microtonal Etudes: An Open-Source Software Development Project

Abstract

This paper outlines an open-source development project dedicated to the performance of microtonal music, specifically Easley Blackwood’s Twelve Microtonal Etudes (1980). Despite the piece’s fixed format, Blackwood stated a specific desire to have the work performed live. This project incorporates multiple elements to this effect, including a standalone software synthesizer and a web application. The paper details prior efforts for microtonal performance on traditional keyboard instruments by Joel Mandelbum and Robert Hasegawa, describes the emergent issues inherent in such endeavors to translate between standard performance practices and microtonal tunings, and proposes methods that will allow for the accurate and easily replicable performance of Blackwood’s etudes. The software synthesizer, proposed as a pedagogical design project for computer science students at the University of Central Florida, is currently under active development. The web application, available at the project website, includes source code and documentation for the use of future development teams.