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Harmonic scales and a Thought

🔗Michael T Pepper <mtpepper@prodigy.net>

4/22/2000 5:44:53 AM

I've done some experimenting with scales that begin on any harmonic and end
an octave (I forgot, is this word taboo 'cause it's not based on JI? The 8th
harmonic is three octaves...) above it. The eighth sounds like a badly out
of tune major scale with an extra note, the sixth sounds like a messed-up
(but in tune) blues scale, and the seventh sounds downright peculiar. The
ninth and twelfth also sound interesting.

My thought was that anything written in JI could also be played in a
Harmonic Series tuning, by simply multiplying each ratio by their lowest
common denominator so they're all integers. Thus the Swanee River in JI
"5/4-9/8-1/1-5/4-9/8-1/1-2/1-5/3-2/1" becomes in Harmonics
"30-27-24-30-27-24-48-40-48". This results not in the fundamental being the
tonic, but rather the most southwestern pitch on the lattice. There, I have
single-handedly bridged the widening gap between JI and Harmonic Series
Tuning! (not really)

Stay tuned,
Keenan Pepper