Organ Experiment With Pitch Control Hugh Le Caine

Organ Experiment with Pitch Control (1956) (2:15) demonstrates an experiment judged unsuccessful by Le Caine, in which the oscillators were coupled with one another so that the tuning of the organ would automatically adjust to the whole number ratios of the overtone series (just intonation) as the music modulated into different keys. It worked with simple music, but the system tended to retune any dissonant pitch to its current fundamental pitch, sometimes leaving only a gruff bass note, as heard in this example.

  • Year of composition: 1956
  • Duration of the submitted work: 2:18

Linked project

Also part of Compositions Demonstrations 1946-1974 .

More works by Hugh Le Caine