Magic chord

The Magic Chord is a chord and installation (1984) created by La Monte Young, consisting of the pitches E, F, A, B♭, D, E, G, and A, in ascending order and used in works including his The Well-Tuned Piano and Chronos Kristalla (1990).[1] The latter was performed by the Kronos Quartet and features all notes of the magic chord as harmonics on open strings.[1] The quartet has been described as, "offer[ing] perhaps the ultimate challenge in performing in a just environment."[4]

Magic chord.[1] (approximate pitch classes sounded, A=440[2]) Play 
Magic chord (as played in The Well-Tuned Piano).[3]

Described as, "complex and throbbing," the chord does not contain its fundamental (see root (chord)),[5] E♭, and is a subset of the Romantic Chord,[6] G-Dorian in eight octaves, spelled G,A,B,C,D,E,F♯,G.[7] "When the Magic Opening Chord is obtained by playing the Opening Chord at one end of a room while the Magic Chord is played at the other (as Young set it up for me), the feeling-changes of the stereo effect as you move back and forth[-]are dazzling."[5] The opening chord consists of E♭, B♭, C, E♭, F, B♭ (ratios 4:6:7:8:9:12 Play ),[8] adding C[9] and E♭ to the magic chord when combined as the magic opening chord (Play ).

The Well-Tuned Piano is based on a pitch lattice of perfect fifths and harmonic sevenths, tuned as follows:[10][11]

Note Note played (E♭) E F G A B♭ (C) D
Note sounded relative to E♭ (Ben Johnston notation) (E♭) F7++ F+ A7b+ B7b+ Bb (D7b) E7b+
Ratio (1/1) 567/512 9/8 21/16 189/128 3/2 (7/4) 63/32
Audio
(from C)		 (E♭) E F G A B♭ (C) D
Step Ratio   567/512 64/63 7/6 9/8 64/63 7/6 9/8

For example, G (21/16) is the harmonic seventh of the perfect fifth (7/4 * 3/2 = 21/16):

P5
H7 49 147 441 1323 (3969)
B F♯ C♯ G♯
7 21 63 189 567
C G D A E
1 3 9 (27) (81)
E♭ B♭ F

Sources
  1. Grimshaw, Jeremy (2011). Draw A Straight Line and Follow It: The Music and Mysticism of La Monte Young, p.176. ISBN 978-0-19-974020-8.
  2. Gann, Kyle (1993). "La Monte Young's The Well-Tuned Piano". Perspectives of New Music. 31 (1): 162. doi:10.2307/833045. JSTOR 833045. (subscription required)
  3. Gann (1993), p. 143.
  4. Strange, Patricia and Strange, Allen (2001). The Contemporary Violin: Extended Performance Techniques, p.160. ISBN 978-0-520-22409-4.
  5. Duckworth, William (2009). Sound and Light: La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, p.187. ISBN 978-0-8387-5738-3.
  6. Potter, Keith (2002). Four Musical Minimalists: La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, p.86. Cambridge. ISBN 9780521015011.
  7. Potter (2002), p.85-6.
  8. Duckworth (2009), p.168.
  9. Potter (2002), p.87.
  10. Gann, Kyle (1997). "La Monte Young's The Well-Tuned Piano", La Monte Young Web Page.
  11. Duckworth p. 166.
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