>If the sruti >scale is influenced by Pythagorean ideas, why no mention of >frequency ratios?
The ancient Hindu texts mention 9- and 13-sruti intervals (perfect fourths and perfect fifths) as the only "consonant" intervals, and never deviated from octave equivalence. That's as Pythagorean as you need to get (Pythagoras had no idea about "frequency ratios," either!). Hindu theorists probably found that by tuning 21 consecutive "consonant" intervals, they could generate the existing scales with virtually no error (2 cents) and have a roughly consistent measure of size for scale steps (major tone = 4, minor tone = 3, semitone = 2). I do have one other model (in my forthcoming paper) for how 22 could have come to be used to describe their scales, but it is a little more far-fetched.
SMTPOriginator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu From: gphillip@senet.com.au Subject: testing an experimental tuning program PostedDate: 31-08-97 13:47:53 SendTo: CN=coul1358/OU=AT/O=EZH ReplyTo: tuning@eartha.mills.edu $UpdatedBy: CN=notesrv2/OU=Server/O=EZH,CN=coul1358/OU=AT/O=EZH,CN=Manuel op de Coul/OU=AT/O=EZH RouteServers: CN=notesrv2/OU=Server/O=EZH,CN=notesrv1/OU=Server/O=EZH RouteTimes: 01-09-97 17:09:26-01-09-97 17:38:03,01-09-97 17:37:46-01-09-97 17:37:50 DeliveredDate: 01-09-97 17:37:50 Categories: $Revisions:
Received: from ns.ezh.nl by notesrv2.ezh.nl (Lotus SMTP MTA v1.1 (385.6 5-6-1997)) with SMTP id C1256505.00532BB9; Mon, 1 Sep 1997 17:08:26 +0200 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA09681; Sun, 31 Aug 1997 13:47:53 +0200 Date: Sun, 31 Aug 1997 13:47:53 +0200 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA09669 Received: (qmail 22720 invoked from network); 31 Aug 1997 11:47:46 -0000 Received: from localhost (HELO ella.mills.edu) (127.0.0.1) by localhost with SMTP; 31 Aug 1997 11:47:46 -0000 Message-Id: <340A42C0.368E@senet.com.au> Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu
At 04:21 PM 8/31/97 -0700, you wrote (Digest 1170, Topic No. 2): >From: greg phillips >Subject: testing an experimental tuning program > >Hi everyone, >I've written a little MSDOS program that allows people to experiment >with tunings (and do a few other things). It requires a sound blaster >card (although it can actually use the PC's speaker - but it doesn't >sound as nice). If anyone out there has a sound blaster card and is >interested in helping me test the program - let me know. I need to >verify that it works on a range of sound cards.
I'd be happy to try out the thing. I don't specifically have a "Creative Labs" brand Sound Blaster card, but my laptop machine uses an "ESS Technology" sound card (whatever that is) and my machine is IBM compatible (for your MSDOS requirement). Feel free to email it to me as an "attached file" or whatever.