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WolframTones ... more trivia

🔗Tom Dent <stringph@gmail.com>

3/14/2008 12:52:51 PM

Not that I endorse Wolfram's computer-music, but I find the opening
display of his website rather curious:
http://tones.wolfram.com/

Every coloured strip on the right releases a somewhat funky guitar
tone when moused over. These seem to be just repitched versions of the
same sample. The funny thing is that they are clearly not in equal
temperament - or indeed any regular temperament or known tuning.

Let's say they are a major scale G-g plus a and b. Then A-a and B-b
are definitely not pure octaves. G-B sounds fairly pure, as does C-a.
There are one or two pure fifths/fourths, but most are fairly far out.
I wonder who on earth thought up such a scale to use in such a context...

The effect is actually very *non*-synthesized, which may be a strong
contrast with the mechanically composed things that the site actually
produces. (Haven't listened to them due to browser issues.)
~~~T~~~