ON TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO SAY “XENHARMONIC” INSTEAD OF “MICROTONAL.”

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(Posted on two Microtonal / Xenharmonic Facebook groups, one here has a lot of comments with all sorts of takes on this)

I see a lot of energy devoted to that here, and elsewhere by people here.
I know the difference, and I know why Xen is more specific, (can be less than 12 per octave, not just more than 12 per octave, plus, who even needs octaves??)

And I know it’s also less based on a reaction to one type of tuning, 12TET. It seems less ethnocentric to say XEN.

I’ve even had people here CORRECT me (!) when I say “Microtonal”, like I’m some noob who doesn’t make Xen music and software. That comes off as welcome as someone proselyting their religion.

I see people trying to force it with the public, but it’s NEVER going to work, in my prediction. It also comes off as nitpicky when the best thing to do is just play the music for people and not worry about their nomenclature as much at first, or the math (unless they’re really into math.)

I taught a bunch of people who don’t play music the difference, tried to get them to say “Xen” or “Xenharmonic” instead of “Microtonal.” But “microtonal” always wins out in what they actually use, in the court of public opinion.

Fighting this is like telling young people not to use their own slang. Actually it’s more like Linux / GNU co-inventor (and GNU License inventor) Richard Stallman. He spends a lot of his time, for decades, sending emails trying to convince the world that they’re wrong, and they need to only ever:

1. Say “Ga-Nu Slash Linux” where they normally say Linux
and
2. “Free Software” doesn’t mean software that doesn’t cost money. It can ONLY means software licensed under the GNU License (or a license with equivalent rights.)

He’s sent several of these emails to me. And I’ve seen dozens of them he’s sent to other people and organizations, and many that he’s published, plus he travels giving talks that are largely about that.

Some high 90s percent of people will always say “free software” for software that costs no money, not for open source software. And some high 90s percent of people will never say “Ga-Nu Slash Linux” instead of “Linux.”

It’s a losing battle to try to get people to use Xenharmonic by telling them to use it, especially by correcting them.

I’m not saying stop using xenharmonic here, and I’m not saying rename the Xenharmonic Alliance.

I’m saying the public doesn’t care and you’re not going to get most people to switch.

Thoughts? (I bet y’all have some, and I bet a lot of people disagree.)

–Michael W. Dean

EDIT: OK, solved. Let’s call it “Micronal.” (not microtonal) This may have been a typo from Steve O’Brien, but I dig it, and it’s one syllable shorter than both microtonal and xenharmonic. lol.