Newsgroup: it.arti.musica.strumenti.chitarra
Titolo: info su pitch axis

Salve a tutti....mi potreste spiegare una volta per tutte che cosa è il 
"pitch axis" che vedo sempre annotato nelle tab di Satriani?....
grassie grassie ;-)
Sam

 grassie grassie ;-)
Sull'ultimo numero di "Chitarre" c'è un articolo in proposito. In verità non
è che si capisca molto ma è comunque una prima indicazione...
--
Domingo
mimmu...@hotmail.com
http://xoomer.virgilio.it/domingo/
ICQ# 74281872

Cosa? ma guarda Sam_81 cosa ha osato scrivere...

Da un forum:
The "Pitch Axis" Theory is a compositional technique that Joe has 
employed in a number of his pieces, simply because he loves the sound it 
creates.
Although the name may sound technical, it isn't such a difficult concept. 
It refers to the way in which a combination of modes can be used all in 
relation to one base note. That base note defines the overall 'key' and 
the modes played over the top create a mixture of different tonalities, 
instead of new key centers. The result can be anything from a beautiful 
to otherworldly sound.
Some of the pieces in which Joe has made use of the Pitch Axis technique 
are Not of This Earth, Always With Me, Always With You, With Jupiter In 
Mind and Satch Boogie.
The article below appeared in the April 1998 issue of 'Guitar' magazine 
and gives us some more insight into the Pitch Axis theory.
Joe Satriani introduced an important 20th Century composition technique 
to the rock arena, known as Pitch Axis. It's presented here not just to 
offer insight into Satriani's creative processes but as a bit of 
information that might spark creative impulses in you.
It has an impressive name, but pitch axis theory need not be complicated 
or intimidating. This compositional method is grounded on a simple idea, 
so the level of complexity or sophistication depends purely on 
application. The principle is that any number of harmonic settings can be 
linked by the same tonal center. Say you're in C major ( C D E F G A B C 
) for four bars and C minor ( C D Eb F G Ab Bb C ) for the next four. The 
major and minor keys share the same tonic, C, and this note provides a 
pivot point on which to shift harmonies. You could then take four bars 
in, say,
C Phrygian ( C Db Eb F G Ab Bb ) and then four in C Mixolydian ( C D E F 
G A Bb ). Now a series of four distinct harmonies are adjoined, all of 
them revolving around
the same key center, C. Thus, one pitch provides an axis point for the 
scales and chords of a variety of harmonic situations.
Satriani learned the concept from a music theory teacher in high school, 
and instantly felt a fondness for it. "It was just one of those things 
where it's like a tuning fork goes off in your body," he laughs. "I 
thought, I like that." He cites 'Always With Me, Always With You' as a 
basic example. The song's first melody is in B major ( B C# D# E F# G# A# 
), and is followed by a stretch in B minor ( B C# D E F# G A ). Joe 
explains, "I don't stray from B, so that's a pitch axis. As long as you 
keep the tonal center the same, then you're doing the pitch axis trick."
He continues, "I started to form the opinion that certain transitions 
from mode to mode sounded better, and certain others were just duds, 
there was no big deal about them. It's sort of like colours; you put two 
primary colours together and some of them just look okay, like yellow and 
red. But you put blue and red together and something happens."
Joe describes his song 'Not of This Earth' as "the ultimate pitch axis 
tune, because there's really only one pivotal bass note in the entire 
song!" The principal note is E, and almost the entire composition 
contains only that note as a pedal. The mode
structure is a repeated four-bar pattern: one bar of E Lydian, one bar of 
E Aeolian (natural minor), one bar of E Lydian and one bar of E 
Mixolydian. The pattern is implicit in the four opening chords of the 
song, and every melody and improvisation strictly follows those modal 
shifts.
In "Satch Boogie" Joe veers from the song's swinging stomp for a long 
pitch axis interlude of taps, pulls and hammers, played exclusively on 
the 5th string. You may have figured it was just a great improv, a 
tapping free-for-all, but Joe is quick to indicate that he approached the 
part methodically and meticulously. "That was something I worked on very 
carefully. Any time I'm working with pitch axis, everything is completely 
deliberate and worked out, if it's a set part. Some techniques you can 
really blow if you don't work it out, 'cause it really does sound like 
you're flailing away. There's a fine line between giving the sense of 
freedom and being too free. This is a definite little journey I'm taking 
the listener on, and it definitely leads back to (the song's head) when 
I'm done.
With the open 5th string ringing through in every measure, the axis pitch 
is clearly heard as an A. As Satriani describes, "Ultimately, (a pitch 
axis composition) is going to have a bass note that's staying in one 
place. The fewer notes you use in that area, the freer you are in your 
harmonic and melodic area."
Joe doesn't limit his pitch axis to the seven fundamental modes, but 
includes other scales as well, for instance A Harmonic minor.