Flying Microtonal Banana

Xenharmonic music is music that uses tuning systems other than 12‑tone equal temperament (12‑TET). The term was coined by American microtonalist Ivor Darreg, drawing on the Greek xenos, meaning both "foreign" and "hospitable." In Darreg’s formulation, xenharmonic explicitly welcomes just intonation and equal temperaments such as 5‑, 7‑, 11‑, 19‑, 22‑, 24‑, 31‑EDO (equal divisions of the octave) and far beyond, as well as non‑octave and alternative interval cycles. In practice, xenharmonic music emphasizes scales, chords, and melodic gestures that arise naturally from these tunings rather than attempting to imitate 12‑TET. It includes everything from pure, beating‑free JI harmonies to vividly "alien" sonorities from non‑octave and higher‑prime temperaments, realized on acoustic, electronic, and hybrid instruments.

Acid rock is a heavier, louder, and more improvisation-driven branch of psychedelic rock that emerged in the mid-to-late 1960s. It is characterized by extended guitar solos, distorted and feedback-laden textures, modal or drone-based harmony, and a strong emphasis on trance-inducing grooves. The style was closely tied to the counterculture and LSD-fueled happenings of the era, particularly on the U.S. West Coast. Musically, it blends blues-rock’s grit, garage rock’s raw energy, folk-rock’s modal harmonies, and raga-influenced drones, then amplifies everything—volume, duration, and intensity—into hypnotic, often explosive performances.

Garage rock is a raw, energetic style of rock music that emerged in the mid-1960s from local scenes across North America. Typically performed by amateur or semi-professional teenage bands in basements and suburban garages, the sound is unpolished and immediate, favoring feel over finesse. Its hallmarks include distorted guitars, pounding drums, simple chord progressions (often I–IV–V), prominent Farfisa/Vox organ riffs, and shouted, attitude-heavy vocals. Songs are short, hooky, and driven by rhythmic urgency, with lyrics about teenage love, boredom, rebellion, and swagger. The style became a direct ancestor of proto-punk and punk rock, prized for its do-it-yourself spirit and visceral impact.

Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that seeks to evoke, simulate, and expand altered states of consciousness through sound. It typically features timbral experimentation (fuzz, wah, tape delay, phasing), drones, modal or raga-influenced harmony, extended improvisation, studio-as-instrument production, and surreal, mystical, or mind-expanding lyrics. Emerging from mid-1960s counterculture, it fused garage-band energy with folk, blues, and non-Western musical ideas—especially Indian classical ragas—while embracing new studio technologies and concert light shows. Both a live and a studio art, psychedelic rock ranges from jangly, kaleidoscopic pop to heavy, hypnotic jams and cosmic soundscapes.

Microtonal music is music that uses microtones—pitches that fall between the notes of the Western 12‑tone equal temperament (12‑TET). In practical terms, it employs intervals smaller than a semitone or uses alternative tuning systems that do not align with the customary twelve equal divisions of the octave. Beyond simple “quarter‑tone” writing, microtonality encompasses historical and global pitch systems (such as those of Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Southeast Asian traditions), just‑intonation lattices, and equal divisions of the octave with many steps (e.g., 19‑EDO, 24‑EDO, 31‑EDO, 53‑EDO, 72‑EDO). It may be realized on retuned acoustic instruments, specially built or modified instruments, voice, or digital synthesis/samplers. Aesthetic results range from delicate, shimmering pitch colors and continuous glissandi to rugged, “in‑between” harmonies and new modalities—often creating sensations that sound ‘between the keys’ of a piano.