David Stybr: Engineer and Composer

Program Description: Ever wonder how our diatonic scale originated? Ever wonder why the piano has white keys and a lesser number of black keys which stick up higher? Any good carpenter could fix this, but our guest speaker David Stybr will show that the pattern of our Do-Re-Mi scale is due to good old physics, mathematics and esthetics. Where do musical ideas originate, and how are they developed? Which musical forms are best suited to which themes, and provide the best balance? How does a composer decide upon the instrumentation or orchestration? As an engineer, Dave loves to figure out what makes things tick, from clocks to metronomes. Engineering is a far more practical career, but music remains a serious hobby. The past few years of amateur composition have taught him more about music appreciation than 4 decades of concerts and recordings, simply because he has tried the process for himself. Sonata form, rondo, fugue etc. make more sense than ever, and he would like to share some of his musical discoveries with you.

1. Scales and Modes:
   Table and Chart: The Physics of the Scale; Examples
   
   1. Modes
      
      1. C Ionian Mode: Modern Major
      2. A Aeolian Mode: Modern Minor
      3. F Lydian Mode
      4. G Mixolydian Mode
   2. Key Changes
      1. C Major
         
      2. D-Flat Major
         
      3. D Major
         
      4. E-Flat Major
   3. Alternate Scales
      1. Pentatonic: C# D# F# G# A# C# (Black Keys only)
      2. Whole-Tone: C D E F# G# A# C
      3. Chromatic or Twelve-Tone
         1. Atonal / Serial
         2. Tonal Chromaticism
      4. Microtones
2. Compositions by David Stybr:
   1. Early Attempt
   2. Structure
   3. Inspiration
   4. Self-Imposed Challenges
      1. Themes
         
      2. Structure
3. Encore
4. Question and Answer Period
5. Epilogue: author Denise Swanson

Introduction

Each year in late October or early November, Chicago Area Mensa holds its Regional Gathering, called HalloweeM. This is the largest Regional Gathering in American Mensa, and about 500 usually attend; only the national Annual Gathering attracts a larger crowd. In November 2003 I was invited to repeat a 1-hour lecture which I had first delivered at the Chicago Area Mensa Monthly Meeting in August 2002, and again at the Intertel Annual General Assembly in July 2003.

Dave in a wizard costume during his lecture at HalloweeM, as attendees guessed which musical work he represented: The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Lecture: An Engineer's Approach to Music Appreciation: Edited Transcript

In 1985 I founded the Classical Music SIG (Special Interest Group) of American Mensa, and coordinated it for a full decade. Unfortunately, other demands on my time forced me to step down in 1995. However after an 8-year sabbatical, and the positive reception my lectures have received, I was persuaded to became SIG Coordinator again in 2003. It is an international SIG with members in 5 countries. Our newsletter Maestro is in English, but I also understand French, German and Spanish.

Mensans are a curious lot who tend to question everything. Well, inquiring minds want to know. As a child, I drove my parents crazy with my questions. "Mom, why does the calendar have 12 months? Dad, how come clocks run clockwise?" I love to figure out what makes things work, or why things are as they are, which probably destined me to be an engineer. Music was an equally strong passion, so when I decided upon a career, I pondered: "Engineering or music? Which pays a living salary?" Now music is a hobby, and I found that the experts could tell me about what and how, but not much about why. One music book sparked my curiosity with this statement: "A musician learns to produce the required notes on his chosen instrument. A composer then tells him what to play." Well, how does the composer know the right notes?

For the next half-hour we will discuss the most basic component of music: the scale. Then, to get everyone out of this room as fast as possible, we will listen to a half-hour of my own music which has resulted from my research. My aim as a composer is primarily to understand the great masters. For example, the Finale of Mozart's "Jupiter" Symphony is one of the greatest displays of counterpoint of all time. I appreciate it all the more, simply because I have tried some counterpoint for myself.

1. Scales and Modes:
   
   The diatonic scale has existed in Western music for more than 2½ millennia, so there must be a good reason for it. It's all a matter of physics, mathematics and esthetics. The ancient Greek mathematician Pythagoras, best known for his Pythagorean theorem of right triangles, first defined the diatonic scale. He defined a few basic intervals, which then established all the other tones of the scale. Keyboard instruments were far in the future, but the piano is an excellent way to illustrate these intervals. The most fundamental interval is the octave, or 2 notes related in frequency by the ratio 2:1. The ratio of the perfect 5th (or G and C) is exactly 3:2, or 1-1/2. The perfect 4th (or F and C) was defined as 4:3, or 1-1/3. Several centuries later, Ptolemy redefined the perfect 3rd (or E and C) as exactly 5:4, or 1-1/4. These intervals are extremely important, due to the simple-fraction nature of their frequency ratios.
   
   The ratios of these ratios then defined all the other notes of the scale. The interval between the 3rd and the 4th was 1-1/16, or a half-step. The interval between the 4th and the 5th was 1-1/8, or a whole step. In sequence, 2 whole steps take us from C to D to E, a half-step from E to F, 3 whole steps from F to G to A to B, and a half-step from B to C. We can subdivide the whole steps into half-steps as well. Voilà! We have the white and black keys on a piano. This pattern of white and black keys emerges because the intervals are multiples, not sums; so the scale is logarithmic, not linear.
   
   I made a huge table of the frequencies of all notes for the 2 octaves from Middle C, and then plotted them on a chart. This was a sure cure for insomnia. The line on the chart shows the frequency of each note of the scale, and it is slightly curved because the scale is a logarithmic function in Equal Temperament, in which the frequency of each of the 12 notes is multiplied by the 12th root of 2.
   
   Table: The Physics of the Scale

   The Physics of the Scale: from Middle C Note Name Freq. Ratio Fraction C Tonic 261.626 1.000 1 C# 277.183 1.059 (12th Rt of 2) D Supertonic 293.665 1.122 1 1/8 = 1.125 D# 311.127 1.189 1 1/5 = 1.200 E Mediant 329.628 1.260 1 1/4 = 1.250 F Subdominant 349.228 1.335 1 1/3 = 1.333 F# 369.994 1.414 (Sq Rt of 2) G Dominant 391.995 1.498 1 1/2 = 1.500 G# 415.305 1.587 A Submediant 440.000 1.682 1 2/3 = 1.667 A# 466.164 1.782 1 3/4 = 1.750 B Leading Tone 493.883 1.888 1 7/8 = 1.875 C Tonic 523.251 2.000 2

   The Physics of the Scale: continued Note Name Freq. Ratio Fraction C Tonic 523.251 2.000 2 C# 554.365 2.119 D Supertonic 587.330 2.245 2 1/4 = 2.250 D# 622.254 2.378 E Mediant 659.255 2.520 2 1/2 = 2.500 F Subdominant 698.456 2.670 2 2/3 = 2.667 F# 739.989 2.828 G Dominant 783.991 2.997 3 G# 830.609 3.175 A Submediant 880.000 3.364 A# 932.328 3.564 B Leading Tone 987.767 3.775 C Tonic 1046.502 4.000 4

   
   Chart: The Physics of the Scale
   
   Okay, for those of you who are still awake, let's hear musical examples of some of the ancient and modern modes in which this scale is used, plus some alternate scales.
   Examples: Scales and Modes

   			Examples: Scales and Modes
   MIDI Click here to play a MIDI version of this score. If you cannot see the score, click here to get the Scorch plug-in. Produced using Sibelius.

   
   
   1. Modes
      
      
      1. C Ionian Mode: Modern Major
         If we begin our scale on C, the result is the Ionian Mode defined by the ancient Greeks, which has become our modern Major Mode. A simple major triad chord sounds harmonious due to simple physics. In a major triad chord of C-E-G-C, the ratios of their frequencies are 1-1¼-1½-2. Beautiful, harmonious simplicity.
         
         
         1. Johann Sebastian Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier: Prélude in C Major: excerpt
            Perfect tuning is in tune for only a few key signatures, because the ratios between 2 adjacent notes are not constant. Equal Temperament, however, divides the scale into 12 equal half-steps. The intervals are slightly mistuned (for example, the ratio of the fifth is 1.498 instead of 1½, and the third is 1.259 instead of 1¼), but the great advantage is that all keys are equally usable. True Equal Temperament became possible only in the early 20th Century with electronic frequency generators. Although it was not possible in his time, Johann Sebastian Bach promoted the concept. His Das Wohltemperierte Klavier (The Well-Tempered Clavier) consists of 2 Books of Préludes and Fugues in all 24 possible major and minor keys. His Prélude and Fugue in C Major from Book I immediately establishes the sonorities of the diatonic scale.
            
            
         2. Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spake Zarathustra): Sunrise
            This demonstrates the power and majesty of the basic interval: the fifth, C-G-C, with ratios of 1-1½-2.
         
         
      2. A Aeolian Mode: Modern Minor
         If we begin our scale on A instead of C, the result is the Aeolian Mode, which has become our modern minor mode.
         
         
         1. Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto in A Minor: I. Allegro molto moderato: excerpt
         
         
      3. F Lydian Mode
         If we begin our scale on F instead of C, the result is the Lydian mode. This is like an F Major scale, but with B-Natural instead of B-Flat. This gives the music a powerful but somewhat unsettled characteristic.
         
         
         1. Charles-Valentin Alkan: Allegro Barbaro for piano: excerpt
         
         
      4. G Mixolydian Mode
         If we begin our scale on G instead of C, the result is the Mixolydian mode, like a G Major scale but with an F-Natural instead of F-Sharp. This mode is sometimes used in church hymns, and it can give the music an attractive archaic quality.
         
         
         1. Ottorino Respighi: Concerto in Modo Misolidio: III. Passacaglia: excerpt
      
      
   2. Key Changes
      The great advantage of equal tuning is that all keys are equally usable. Camille Saint-Saëns humorously demonstrated this in his Carnival of the Animals, and slyly included a pair of pianists among the menagerie.
      Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival des Animaux: Pianistes
      
      1. C Major
         
      2. D-Flat Major (one more time!)
         
      3. D Major (let's hear that again, shall we?)
         
      4. E-Flat Major
      
      
   3. Alternate Scales
      
      
      1. Pentatonic: C# D# F# G# A# C# (Black Keys only)
         The Pentatonic Scale can be regarded as played on only the black keys of the piano, or any other scale with identical intervals. This scale is commonly used in Oriental music, and Claude Debussy was quite fond of it. Debussy confounded most of the harmony professors because he broke most of the rules, but his ingenious music speaks for itself.
         
         
         1. Claude Debussy: Estampes: Pagodes: excerpt
            
         2. Claude Debussy: Préludes: La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair): excerpt
         
         
      2. Whole-Tone: C D E F# G# A# C
         Another subset of our diatonic scale is the Whole Tone scale, which is made entirely of whole-steps. All notes being equal, this scale lacks a common tonal center and gives the music a fluid blurry character.
         
         
         1. Claude Debussy: L'Isle Joyeuse: excerpt
         2. David Stybr: Brass Quintet in C Minor: IV. Finale: Allegro Molto (5:10) (MP3: 1.24 MB)
            This establishes a firm C Major tonality, then abruptly transitions to the Whole Tone scale.
         
         
      3. Chromatic or Twelve-Tone
         After the Whole Tone scale of 6 whole-steps, it is a simple progression to the Chromatic scale of 12 half-steps. The Twelve Tone scale is commonly associated with serial music, in which the notes of the Chromatic scale are arranged into a tone-row or series, which becomes the basis for a piece.
         
         
         1. Atonal / Serial
            
            
            1. Igor Stravinsky: Movements for Piano and Orchestra: I.
            
            
         2. Tonal Chromaticism
            Twelve-Tone music is not necessarily atonal. The Chromatic scale can add brilliant colors to tonal music as well, as in these 2 well-loved pieces.
            
            
            1. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Tsar Saltan: Flight of the Bumblebee
               
            2. Julius Fucik: Entrance of the Gladiators: excerpt (ask audience to identify the title and composer)
         
         
      4. Microtones
         So far we've taken the standard scale, listened to 4 of its basic modes, then tried different subsets of the scale, from 5 notes to 12. And now for something completely different. What is unusual about this scale? I'll give you a hint. So far we've discussed music based on the diatonic scale, and our chromatic scale is based on 12-note equal tuning.
         
         
         1. Easley Blackwood: Suite for Guitar in 15-Note Equal Tuning: IV. Gigue
            Microtonal tuning divides the octave into more than 12 equal parts. Microtonal scales sound strange at first, and some are downright dissonant, but several are surprisingly sonorous and consonant. Some of these microtonal tunings, particularly 15-note and 19-note, have several simple-fraction intervals like our standard 12-note octave.
            
            
         2. Easley Blackwood: Fanfare in 19-Note Equal Tuning
            In order to subdivide the scale even further, we need to use electronic instruments. Composed in 1981 for the 30th anniversary of WFMT-FM in Chicago, this fanfare makes extensive use of the superior consonance of 19-note tuning major triads. It features a rapidly modulating succession of major keys which are clearly expressed.
   
   That gives you a general idea of how I investigated the scale, which is perhaps the most important of the many facets of music. All right, lock the doors! Now let's hear how some of this research has resulted in some of my own music.
   
   
2. Compositions by David Stybr:
   About 10 years ago Denise & I went to a concert by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Just after Four Pieces for Orchestra by Béla Bartók, I heard someone remark: "I could have written better music than that!" Hmm, could she? Could I?
   
   
   1. Early Attempt
      David Stybr: Sonata Fugata in F Major: excerpt (2:00)
      1. Theme I: Fugue
      2. Theme II: Episode
      3. Bridge: reprise of Fugue
      4. Development Fugue + Episode together
      This piece is simplistic, overlong and somewhat monotonous, but I can't quite destroy it. Someone also pointed out that the theme is like a sequence from Mozart's "Haffner" Symphony. Oh, thanks for telling me! As if I'm not worried enough about subconscious plagiarism. Generally in my music, I create a set of problems for myself to solve, and the results sometimes surprise me. In the past 2 years I have composed about 20 hours of music but deleted about 18 hours of it. Even though this piece is too long and bland, it does have a spark of life, so I'll keep it around.
      
      
   2. Structure
      David Stybr: Brass Quintet in C Minor: II. Scherzo: (3:30) (MP3: 0.84 MB)
      After a year, a halfway decent piece emerged for brass quintet. Chicago Area Programs Office Peter Kraus is a tuba player, and at first he doubted whether brass could actually play arpeggios. Well, after a few months he took a real shine to the Scherzo and asked me to include it tonight. It's jolly good fun. Luckily, subconscious plagiarism seems not to be a problem, because my music has its own distinct voice.
      
      1. Theme I is a jaunty little fanfare for 2 trumpets, followed by those arpeggios Peter loves to hate.
      2. Theme II is a study in which the arpeggios have been transformed into a flowing triplet accompaniment. The theme itself has duplet notes which gradually slow.
      3. Theme III is literally the trio of the Scherzo, a triple canon for trumpet, trombone and tuba.
      
      
   3. Inspiration
      David Stybr: Two Brazilian Dances for Wind Quintet (MP3: 1.92 MB): I. Bossa Nova quase uma Passacaglia (3:35)
      1. Theme: Original version for Contrabassoon and Bassoon
         Inspiration comes from the darndest places. One guest speaker at a Chicago Area Mensa Monthly Meeting in 2002 was contrabassoonist Susan Nigro. She and Peter Kraus had a duet contest for contrabassoon and tuba: How Low Can They Go? Before I knew it, I suddenly had a theme in mind for contrabassoon and bassoon. Sorry Peter, no tuba.
         
      2. Theme: Final version for Wind Quintet: extreme low ranges of Flute and Oboe
         People have asked me what it's like to compose. This was hard to describe, but I might have found a simple analogy. Most music lovers often have favorite pieces of music going through their minds. I often think about favorite pieces too, but half the time the music in my mind is original. It usually appears before I am fully aware of it, just like a favorite tune creeping up on me, but it's mine. Then the next time I am at the computer, I notate what was in my mind. What a wonderful feeling it brings!
      
      
   4. Self-Imposed Challenges
      David Stybr: Life and Afterlife: Four Elegies for Soprano and Orchestra: II. Nocturnal Procession (6:00) (MP3: 1.24 MB)
      Typically, I try to create interesting musical problems for myself to solve, be they thematic, structural, harmonic etc.
      
      1. Themes
         
         1. Theme I is based on 3 syncopated phrases which begin on the 2nd beat, instead of the upbeat or the downbeat. The accompaniment is a relentless tread on pizzicato celli and double basses (based on the flowing figure which begins Movement I).
            
         2. Theme II is similar, but more flowing.
            
         3. Theme III is a lyrical contrast, but if you listen closely, I converted Themes I and II into the accompaniment for Theme III.
      2. Structure
         This is one of my more ambitious pieces, and as an engineer I created 3 structural problems for myself.
         1. Over a steady accompaniment, build themes out of syncopated fragments. Each phrase begins on the 2nd beat, not the 1st beat or the upbeat. This creates an unsettled atmosphere of irregularity superimposed on regularity.
            
         2. Gradually modulate the key signatures upward by whole steps from D Minor to E Minor to F-Sharp Minor. Briefly climb to the relative major key of F-Sharp Minor: A Major, but A is the dominant of D, so the music falls into the home key of D Minor again.
            
         3. In the central Rêverie section, Themes I & II become a contrapuntal accompaniment to a new Theme III. The challenge was also to provide sufficient contrast, but without loss of momentum.
            
         4. In the Recapitulation, the key remains in D Minor, with no modulation to E Minor. In this slightly lower key, I can give the soprano relatively higher notes for dramatic effect.
            
         5. Once again the piece climbs into A Major, but a fortissimo D Minor pizzicato chord has the last word.
   
   
3. Encore: Johann Sebastian Bach / Ferruccio Busoni: Preludio, Fuga e Fuga figurata (4:27)
   
   Now let's return to Bach and Book I of his The Well-Tempered Clavier. Here is Prélude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 850, in an unusual transcription by Ferruccio Busoni. Can anyone guess the unifying factor between the busy Prélude and the stately Fugue? Chord progression? Correct! This Busoni transcription wonderfully illustrates just how closely related this music really is. Near the end of the Fugue, when it seems that this glorious music cannot possibly get any better, the magic increases. Busoni inserts his Fuga figurata, in which the Prélude and the Fugue are played simultaneously, and they interweave almost perfectly. Far from a mere virtuoso stunt, Busoni presents the radiant music of Bach in a fresh perspective. Ladies and gentlemen, I take off my hat to the immortal mastery of Johann Sebastian Bach. One of the joys of fine music is that no matter how much I learn about it, countless wonderful discoveries remain. Thank you.
   
   
4. Question and Answer Period
   
   Yesterday on my drive home from work, WFMT-FM in Chicago broadcast Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto. This may be the finest violin concerto by any American composer. Its sheer beauty and lyricism, coupled with a bittersweet yearning and gorgeous orchestration, is really what music is all about. This rapturous music so captivated me that my hair stood on end, and I had to be careful not to slam into the car in front of me!
   
   
5. Epilogue: author Denise Swanson
   
   Afterward my wife, author Denise Swanson, spoke about Writing Can Be Murder (see transcription, in interview format). My first musical commission was to compose a small suite for her best-selling Scumble River Mystery book series.
   
   David Stybr: Scumble River Portrait
   
   1. Scumble River Legend, a Ballad for Small Orchestra (1:00). How many book series have their own signature music? It's quirky, but so is Scumble River, Illinois.
      
   2. Lazy River Waltz, for Woodwind Quartet and Piano (1:15). The Sun dawns on another slightly out-of-kilter day in Scumble River, Illinois.
      
   3. Rolling River Rag, for Piano (4:10). Rags were inspired by the Ohio, Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, and now Scumble River too.