7X7 (1 to 85,766,121) is an 8-channel fixed media composition created in Max/MSP. The versions presented here are stereo mixes for the purpose of accessibility. However, the premiere performance in the Voxman Concert Hall at University of Iowa used an 8.1 surround sound setup. It was this 8 channel setup for which I composed the piece in the electronic music studios at the University.
The title refers to the 7X7 grid of just-intonation rations that comprise the tuning system for the work. I used 3/2 ratios horizontally and 7/4 ratios vertically to create a 49 tone octave with intervals as small as 8 cents between consecutive steps in the 49 tone scale. At times, such as in the second section of the work, the ratios are used to calculate the azimuth angle in 8 channel space, thus mapping the pitch space onto the aural landscape.
Other panning techniques included pseudo-lissajous curves and other parametric panning patterns as well as semi-random doppler shifting and single channel routing. I programmed most of the panning abstractions based on models provided by Christopher Dobrian in the Max Cookbook and with guidance from my teacher at Iowa Dr. Jean-François Charles.
| 1/1 | 3/2 | 9/8 | 27/16 | 81/64 | 243/128 | 729/512 |
| 7/4 | 21/16 | 63/32 | 189/64 | 567/256 | 1701/1024 | 5103/4096 |
| 49/32 | 147/128 | 441/256 | 1323/1024 | 3969/2048 | 11907/8192 | 35721/32768 |
| 343/128 | 1029/512 | 3087/1024 | 9261/4096 | 27783/8192 | 83349/32768 | 250047/131072 |
| 2401/2048 | 7203/4096 | 21609/16384 | 64827/32768 | 194481/131072 | 583443/524288 | 1750329/1048576 |
| 16807/16384 | 50421/32768 | 151263/131072 | 453789/262144 | 1361367/1048576 | 4084101/2097152 | 12252303/8388608 |
| 117649/65536 | 352947/262144 | 1058841/1048576 | 3176523/2097152 | 9529569/8388608 | 28588707/16777216 | 85766121/67108864 |