Welcome

Established in 1982, The Chrysalis Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit arts and education organization devoted to developing the field of acoustic music. We support the creation of original acoustic musical instruments, encourage the composition of music in alternative tuning systems, and promote live performances of this music.

The Foundation is accomplishing these goals through the work of master builder, composer, and writer Cris Forster, whose unique acoustic instruments are designed to explore new tunings in just intonation.

We are committed to the idea that the future of music depends on the integration of new timbres and tunings as raw ingredients in an expanding, flexible, and highly nuanced tonal palette. By recognizing the art of tuning as a variable rather than a constant, music can continue to be a vital force capable of expressing and addressing the complexities of our modern minds and spirits.

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It is impossible to speak a language without sounding the letters that spell the words of verbal expression.

It is impossible to play an instrument without sounding the ratios that measure the intervals of musical expression.

Verbal expressions require the syntax of accurately spoken or written words for communicating recognizable and therefore memorizable sentences and paragraphs.

Musical expressions require the tuning of accurately played or notated intervals for communicating recognizable and therefore memorizable melodies and harmonies.

Notwithstanding illiteracy and innumeracy, all thought and knowledge depend on the collective experience of that which is recognizable and therefore memorizable.

The origins of music: Evidence, theory, and prospects [PDF] (See especially pp. 5–7, 12–13.)

New flutes document the earliest musical tradition in southwestern Germany [PDF]

Art is not therapy.

-Cris Forster

New Ambisonance Album

Kickstarter Article

PTC Mathcad Article

Building New Chrysalis II

San Francisco Classical Voice Article

YouTube Just Intonation Music Videos

We are pleased to announce that Cris Forster’s book,
Musical Mathematics: On the Art and Science of Acoustic Instruments,
is available at Amazon.com and AbeBooks.com.

 

Eleven 5-star Customer Reviews

 

Musical Mathematics is also available in 170 libraries in the US, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Macau, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia.

Musical Mathematics is the definitive tome for the adventurous musician. Integrating mathematics, music history, and hands-on experience, this volume serves as a comprehensive guide to the tunings and scales of acoustic instruments from around the world. Author, composer, and builder Cris Forster illuminates the mathematical principles of acoustic music, offering practical information and new discoveries about both traditional and innovative instruments. With this knowledge readers can improve, or begin to build, their own instruments inspired by Forster’s creations shown in the 16 color plates. For those ready to step outside musical conventions and those whose curiosity about the science of sound is never satisfied, Musical Mathematics is the map to a new musical world.

• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Release Date: July 14, 2010
• Hardcover, cloth case, and dust jacket
• Sewn binding
• 8¾ x 11⅛ x 1.9 in
• 944 pp
• 249 figures
• 105 tables
• 16 color plates
• 4 bibliographies
• 8 appendices
• Comprehensive index

Table of Contents [PDF]

Look Inside! [PDF]

Bibliography [PDF]

Index [PDF]

Seven Extensive Reviews [PDF]

Thirteen Short Reviews [PDF]

85+ Online PDF Citations

The Chrysalis Foundation