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Suite for Microtonal Piano (1978) is a suite for specifically microtonally tuned piano(s) by Ben Johnston written in 1977 (see also just intonation). According to Bob Gilmore the piece, "take extended just intonation well beyond the point reached by Harry Partch."

"The piano is tuned to a selection of overtones from the fifth octave of the harmonic spectrum of C. All octaves are tuned in the same scale....The lowest C (33 Hz.) can be used to tune the scale by ear. In succession, touch the nodes producing the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 11th, 13th, 17th, 19th partials. Then G, D; D, A; E, B; B-flat, F; are just (beatless) fifths."

Movements

1. Alarum
2. Blues
3. Etude
4. Song
5. Toccata

Alarum is a Shakespeare era stage direction indicating "a grand entrance" and an archaic word for a call to arms, so "Alarum" is a fanfare.

"Blues" and "Song" are both slow movements. "Blues" uses as blue notes the minor seventh (C-B♭) and mediant (in D dorian exactly halfway between E and G). "Song" is in E phrygian.

"Etude" is a study in serial technique and six-against-five polyrhythms in which Johnston indicates "blur with pedal". This, "clues us in that the linear intricacies are only part of the story here: the amazing swirl of overtones resulting from an atonal application of this tuning are of equal importance."

"Toccata" features diatonic outer sections and a spikier chromatic middle section.

The piece has been recorded and released on:

• Microtonal Piano by Ben Johnston (1997). Phillip Bush, piano. Koch International Classics 3-7369-2.

Sources

1. Johnston, Ben and Gilmore, Bob (2006). "Maximum Clarity" and Other Writings on Music, p.xxxv. ISBN 978-0-252-03098-7.
2. ^ Microtonal Piano by Ben Johnston (1997). Phillip Bush, piano. Koch International Classics 3-7369-2.

v t e Microtonal music
Composers	Richard Barrett Béla Bartók Easley Blackwood Jr. Heinz Bohlen Julián Carrillo Franklin Cox Mildred Couper John Eaton Brian Ferneyhough Michael Finnissy Bjørn Fongaard Alois Hába Christiaan Huygens Charles Ives Ben Johnston György Ligeti Stu Mackenzie Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf Joel Mandelbaum Joe Maneri Roger Redgate John Schneider Sevish Ezra Sims Nicola Vicentino Claude Vivier Elaine Walker Ivan Wyschnegradsky La Monte Young
Inventors	Glenn Branca Wendy Carlos Ivor Darreg Adriaan Fokker Lou Harrison Yuri Landman Harry Partch Tui St. George Tucker Nicola Vicentino
Tunings and scales	Non-octave- repeating scales Alpha scale Beta scale Gamma scale Delta scale Lambda scale (Bohlen–Pierce scale) Equal temperament 15 17 19 22 23 24 31 34 41 53 58 72 96 Just intonation Harry Partch's 43-tone scale Double diatonic
Concepts and techniques	Limit Otonality and Utonality Semitone Sonido 13 Xenharmonicity Tonality diamond
Groups and publications	Boston Microtonal Society Genesis of a Music Huygens-Fokker Foundation
Compositions	Beauty in the Beast quarter tone pieces just pieces Mother Sonata for Microtonal Piano Suite for Microtonal Piano Twelve Microtonal Etudes for Electronic Music Media Flying Microtonal Banana K.G. L.W.
Other topics	Enharmonic keyboard Generalized keyboard Modernism (music)

• Compositions by Ben Johnston
• Compositions for solo piano
• Compositions in just intonation
• 1977 compositions
• 19-limit tuning and intervals