RE: 7:4's mood, and other things

I don't have answers to all of Kami Rousseau's questions:

> How do you say "7:4"?? Seven quarters?? Seven four? Seven on four?

Harmonic seventh or perfect seventh. Septie`me parfaite.
By the way, it's best to write a ratio either like 4:7 or 7/4, but
not like 7:4 (unless you mean 4/7).

> Does anyone know of a french name for cents??? How do you pronounce it in
> french?

Aussi cents. Comme "sant"?

> What is the minimum number of degrees to have a octave based scale?
> What is the minimum number of degrees to have a n-ave based scale?

I suppose two, being a pathological case.

> What is the maximum number of beats/second the ear can perceive? (is the
> number of beats is greater than this number, the interval is not
> perceived as "beating" anymore)

I do not think that there is a clear border. Beating gradually
changes into an increasing roughness of tone.

> What is the max freq a human can perceive? (Again, Id like to get the "world
> record")

>From an old Guinness book of records: "Children with asthma can often
detect a sound of 30000 cycles per second. It was announced in February
1964 that experiments in the U.S.S.R. had conclusively proved that
oscillations as high as 200000 cycles per second can be heard if the
oscillator is pressed against the skull."

Manuel Op de Coul coul@ezh.nl

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American Festival of Microtonal Music
318 East 70th Street, Suite 5FW
New York, New York 10021 USA
(212)517-3550/fax (212) 517-5495
reinhard@ios.com

On Tue, 27 Feb 1996, John Chalmers wrote:

> In reference to Kami's questions, I pronounce 7/4 as "seven four,"

Ditto to John's comments. I've heard the 7/4 is called the "interval of the
elephant" in India. Kirnberger used it in a flute sonata at the time of
the American Revolution and notated it with an "i". Tartini stuck it in
his violin solos every once in a while. More recently, Jon Catler based
his melody to "Hey Sailor" (released on M-Tone as an EP produced by the
composer).

> A few French authors still use Savarts, either 301 or 300 of them to the
> octave.

In musical conversation the French use an English sounding "cents".
Composers using quartertones think in 1200s. You mention Savarts and
they merely recognize the term.

> I think the least perceptible musical interval is closer to 2 cents,
> approximately 866/865, though many people's discrimination stops at 2
> or 3 times this.

John, perhaps it should be 866/865 as the level of discrimination rounded
off to 2 cents. I understand the context of communicating straightly,
however I suspect that music departments everywhere continue to teach
that the 7th harmonic - as well as the 11th and the 13th - are "flat" as
if in "wrong".

> Why would asthmatic children hear higher pitches than normal ones, if
> that is the implication of Manuel's post?

Well Manual? Being ashmatic myself I have a certain perspective on
this. Sensitivity in asthmatics serves as a warning to others of
environmental dangers similar to the canaries used in mines. I've heard
that there is a bleeding between membranes that causes allergies, in the
sense that a usually benign substance has a radical response to it by
asthmatic that is "triggered" by the toxin.
an asthmatic that is literally triggered by the toxin.

Johnny Reinhard
American Festival of Microtonal Music
318 East 70th Street, #5FW
New York City, USA
reinhard@styx.ios.com
212-517-3550/fax212-517-5495

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> Why would asthmatic children hear higher pitches than normal ones, if
> that is the implication of Manuel's post?

I don't know. Is there a doctor on the list? Perhaps someone who has
a recent edition of the Guiness Book of Records can look up if this is
still mentioned as a fact.

Manuel Op de Coul coul@ezh.nl

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Yes, this reference to asthmatic children, as well as the 200 kHz tone
being detected if the oscillator is pressed to the skill, are still in
the current edition of Guiness.

Gary Hanrahan

On Wed, 28 Feb 1996, Manuel Op de Coul wrote:

> > Why would asthmatic children hear higher pitches than normal ones, if
> > that is the implication of Manuel's post?
>
> I don't know. Is there a doctor on the list? Perhaps someone who has
> a recent edition of the Guiness Book of Records can look up if this is
> still mentioned as a fact.
>
> Manuel Op de Coul coul@ezh.nl
>

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