Your tonality is not my tonality - meetings between the performer, the composer and the (micro)tonality

An exploration of different tonalities from a performer’s perspective.

• Embody a diversity of (micro) tonalities
• Develop performer knowledge and musical diversity 
• Methodology for teaching

Unni Løvlid (Norwegian Academy of Music) and Marianne Baudouin Lie (NTNU) are performers from distinct musical genres — norwegian traditional music and classical/contemporary music—bringing diverse practices and experiences to this collaboration. We view our differences as a valuable resource and strength in our work. Through this project, we aim to develop ourselves as reflective performers and our pedagogical methods to embody and enhance inner ear training, benefiting a broader community. Our aim is for our work to foster a shared verbal language and strengthen collective understanding of a manifold of tonality. 

There is a lot of research into microtonality, and composers such as Grisey and Fongaard use it extensively. There is less research on tonality from a musician's perspective, and with a view to developing performance and teaching methodology. The duo wants to explore how we can internalize and embody the diversity of tonalities through the inner ear, which we can then use freely to interpret and create music. The focus of the project is to create new artistic insights for both composed and improvised music, and to strengthen the discourse on the tendency towards a standardization of tonality, versus diversity. We explore what happens with a folksinger when they develop new types of knowledge, and through this feel the need for different artistic expressions. Another side is what happens to the classical instrumentalist who develops a new way of listening, and explores new auditive methods for learning and working, as well as improvisation. 

Today's performers relate to several types of tonality as performers and listeners and must regularly move between microtonal, tempered, modal or pure-toned systems. In 2021 the duo initiated a cooperation with five different composers, all with an extra interest in tonality. The newly written compositions and improvisations in the project have tonality as a consistent theme but are also inspired using folk music. Commissioned works are by Sven Lyder Kahrs, Lasse Thoresen, Karin Rehnqvist, Lene Grenager, Ole Henrik Moe and Jon Øivind Ness.  The aim for the duo is to be able to thoroughly embody the music which is composed with different aesthetics and ideas of tonality, and also improvise with the material and create new music.

• Which processes, insights and music evolve from the meeting between two performers, different traditions and close cooperation with composers, colleagues and students? 
• How can we develop methods to embody different types of microtonality, and use it naturally and with confidence in our performances?
• How can this meeting between performers from different backgrounds, with improvisation and working with scores and composers, inspire new music and performers knowing through knowledge? 

The project will benefit the artistry, our working environment, our students, and the field. We strengthen each other's methodology by exploring different rehearsal strategies, where listening-based work has an important focus. The project will have both an artistic research part, and an educational aspect, with creating methods and techniques to embody and develop our "inner ear" and the understanding of tonality that sometimes conflicts with the balanced tempered scale. What do microtonality, quarter tones and pure intervals mean for performers of different traditions, and for different composers?

Our vision is to increase understanding of tonal diversity in musical life and inspire students, musicians, and composers around us as well as ourselves. We believe that in our time this is a craft that is needed in our diverse society, and to reach this goal we need a better vocabulary and understanding of the discourse as performers and composers in all genres. The project opens new artistic perspectives and wants to convey new insights, both through artistic contributions in the form of sounding music, newly written music, educational work, documentation and further as a long-term professional artistic development work with collaboration with other artists and disciplines. Composers, performers, and experts in ear training and music theory are invited into the conversation to provide diverse perspectives, exploring the processes, insights, and new music that emerge from the intersection of two performers, traditions, and composers.