Misc.

A few random notes for anyone or no one:

1. On the origin of the word "jazz." This is uncertain; the story
recently circulated is a popular one, but not necessarily correct.

2. On Hindemith. Having never studied with him, I can only report his book
Unterweisung im Tonsatz, translated as The Craft of Musical Composition.
This is the book in which he builds up a new harmonic theory based on the
harmonic series and then treats everything as 12-tET. Hindemith discussed
the 7th harmonic at some length but did not, as far as I can tell,
understand it. His book is to me a historical curiosity: it almost did
something right, perceived something of an abyss at really paying
attention to the harmonic series, and then retreated into the familiar.

I'd be interested in others' opinions.

3. Guitar tuning. Mark Rankin believes that the best way to take into
account the flex of the strings at the frets is to include in the
calculations something known as Gilbert scaling. I have had two
fretboards built this way. Anyone else want to explain Gilbert scaling? I
don't have the theory readily available.

========================== =================================
Dr. Paul Rapoport e-mail: rapoport@mcmaster.ca
SADM (Music) tel: (+1) 905 529 7070, ext. 2 4217
McMaster University fax: (+1) 905 527 6793


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