Convergent Evolution in a Large Cross-Cultural Database of Musical Scales
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The KNIGHT REVISION of HORNBOSTEL-SACHS: a New Look at Musical Instrument Classification
The KNIGHT REVISION of HORNBOSTEL-SACHS: a new look at musical instrument classification by Roderic C. Knight, Professor of Ethnomusicology Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, © 2015, Rev. 2017 Introduction The year 2015 marks the beginning of the second century for Hornbostel-Sachs, the venerable classification system for musical instruments, created by Erich M. von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs as Systematik der Musikinstrumente in 1914. In addition to pursuing their own interest in the subject, the authors were answering a need for museum scientists and musicologists to accurately identify musical instruments that were being brought to museums from around the globe. As a guiding principle for their classification, they focused on the mechanism by which an instrument sets the air in motion. The idea was not new. The Indian sage Bharata, working nearly 2000 years earlier, in compiling the knowledge of his era on dance, drama and music in the treatise Natyashastra, (ca. 200 C.E.) grouped musical instruments into four great classes, or vadya, based on this very idea: sushira, instruments you blow into; tata, instruments with strings to set the air in motion; avanaddha, instruments with membranes (i.e. drums), and ghana, instruments, usually of metal, that you strike. (This itemization and Bharata’s further discussion of the instruments is in Chapter 28 of the Natyashastra, first translated into English in 1961 by Manomohan Ghosh (Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, v.2). The immediate predecessor of the Systematik was a catalog for a newly-acquired collection at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels. The collection included a large number of instruments from India, and the curator, Victor-Charles Mahillon, familiar with the Indian four-part system, decided to apply it in preparing his catalog, published in 1880 (this is best documented by Nazir Jairazbhoy in Selected Reports in Ethnomusicology – see 1990 in the timeline below). -
How to Construct Modes
How to Construct Modes Modes can be derived from a major scale. The true application of a mode is one in which the notes and harmony are derived primarily from a mode. Modal scales are used, however, over the chord of the moment in a non-modal tune, although it would not be a modal melody in the strictest definition. There are seven basic modes and you may derive them utilizing a major scale as reference. The names of the 7 modes are: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian Each scale or mode has distinctive note relationships which give it its unique sound. The simplest way to construct modes is to construct a seven note scale starting from each successive note in a major scale. By referencing the diatonic notes in the original major scale (ionian mode), all seven modes can be created from each of the major scale notes. • Ionian is scale degree l to l (one octave higher or lower) • Dorian is 2 to 2 • Phrygian is 3 to 3 • Lydian is 4 to 4 • Mixolydian is 5 to 5 • Aeolian is 6 to 6 • Locrian is 7 to 7 However, there is a better way to construct any mode: To construct any mode, think of the scale degree it is associated with. For example, dorian can be associated with the second degree of a major scale. As we have seen, modes may be constructed by building a diatonic 7 note scale beginning on each successive major scale degree. But you need to be able to construct on any note any of the seven modes without first building a major scale. -
The 17-Tone Puzzle — and the Neo-Medieval Key That Unlocks It
The 17-tone Puzzle — And the Neo-medieval Key That Unlocks It by George Secor A Grave Misunderstanding The 17 division of the octave has to be one of the most misunderstood alternative tuning systems available to the microtonal experimenter. In comparison with divisions such as 19, 22, and 31, it has two major advantages: not only are its fifths better in tune, but it is also more manageable, considering its very reasonable number of tones per octave. A third advantage becomes apparent immediately upon hearing diatonic melodies played in it, one note at a time: 17 is wonderful for melody, outshining both the twelve-tone equal temperament (12-ET) and the Pythagorean tuning in this respect. The most serious problem becomes apparent when we discover that diatonic harmony in this system sounds highly dissonant, considerably more so than is the case with either 12-ET or the Pythagorean tuning, on which we were hoping to improve. Without any further thought, most experimenters thus consign the 17-tone system to the discard pile, confident in the knowledge that there are, after all, much better alternatives available. My own thinking about 17 started in exactly this way. In 1976, having been a microtonal experimenter for thirteen years, I went on record, dismissing 17-ET in only a couple of sentences: The 17-tone equal temperament is of questionable harmonic utility. If you try it, I doubt you’ll stay with it for long.1 Since that time I have become aware of some things which have caused me to change my opinion completely. -
Kūnqǔ in Practice: a Case Study
KŪNQǓ IN PRACTICE: A CASE STUDY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THEATRE OCTOBER 2019 By Ju-Hua Wei Dissertation Committee: Elizabeth A. Wichmann-Walczak, Chairperson Lurana Donnels O’Malley Kirstin A. Pauka Cathryn H. Clayton Shana J. Brown Keywords: kunqu, kunju, opera, performance, text, music, creation, practice, Wei Liangfu © 2019, Ju-Hua Wei ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my gratitude to the individuals who helped me in completion of my dissertation and on my journey of exploring the world of theatre and music: Shén Fúqìng 沈福庆 (1933-2013), for being a thoughtful teacher and a father figure. He taught me the spirit of jīngjù and demonstrated the ultimate fine art of jīngjù music and singing. He was an inspiration to all of us who learned from him. And to his spouse, Zhāng Qìnglán 张庆兰, for her motherly love during my jīngjù research in Nánjīng 南京. Sūn Jiàn’ān 孙建安, for being a great mentor to me, bringing me along on all occasions, introducing me to the production team which initiated the project for my dissertation, attending the kūnqǔ performances in which he was involved, meeting his kūnqǔ expert friends, listening to his music lessons, and more; anything which he thought might benefit my understanding of all aspects of kūnqǔ. I am grateful for all his support and his profound knowledge of kūnqǔ music composition. Wichmann-Walczak, Elizabeth, for her years of endeavor producing jīngjù productions in the US. -
The New Dictionary of Music and Musicians
The New GROVE Dictionary of Music and Musicians EDITED BY Stanley Sadie 12 Meares - M utis London, 1980 376 Moda Harold Powers Mode (from Lat. modus: 'measure', 'standard'; 'manner', 'way'). A term in Western music theory with three main applications, all connected with the above meanings of modus: the relationship between the note values longa and brevis in late medieval notation; interval, in early medieval theory; most significantly, a concept involving scale type and melody type. The term 'mode' has always been used to designate classes of melodies, and in this century to designate certain kinds of norm or model for composition or improvisation as well. Certain pheno mena in folksong and in non-Western music are related to this last meaning, and are discussed below in §§IV and V. The word is also used in acoustical parlance to denote a particular pattern of vibrations in which a system can oscillate in a stable way; see SOUND, §5. I. The term. II. Medieval modal theory. III. Modal theo ries and polyphonic music. IV. Modal scales and folk song melodies. V. Mode as a musicological concept. I. The term I. Mensural notation. 2. Interval. 3. Scale or melody type. I. MENSURAL NOTATION. In this context the term 'mode' has two applications. First, it refers in general to the proportional durational relationship between brevis and /onga: the modus is perfectus (sometimes major) when the relationship is 3: l, imperfectus (sometimes minor) when it is 2 : I. (The attributives major and minor are more properly used with modus to distinguish the rela tion of /onga to maxima from the relation of brevis to longa, respectively.) In the earliest stages of mensural notation, the so called Franconian notation, 'modus' designated one of five to seven fixed arrangements of longs and breves in particular rhythms, called by scholars rhythmic modes. -
Panpipes As Units of Cultural Analysis and Dispersal
Evolutionary Human Sciences (2020), 2, e17, page 1 of 11 doi:10.1017/ehs.2020.15 RESEARCH ARTICLE Panpipes as units of cultural analysis and dispersal Gabriel Aguirre-Fernández1*† , Damián E. Blasi2–6 and Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra1* 1Palaeontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 2Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA, 3Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Thuringia, Germany, 4Quantitative Linguistics Laboratory, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, 5Institute for the Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland and 6Human Relations Area Files, Yale University, CT, USA *Corresponding authors. E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Abstract The panpipe is a musical instrument composed of end-blown tubes of different lengths tied together. They can be traced back to the Neolithic, and they have been found at prehistoric sites in China, Europe and South America. Panpipes display substantial variation in space and time across functional and aesthetic dimensions. Finding similarities in panpipes that belong to distant human groups poses a challenge to cultural evolution: while some have claimed that their relative simplicity speaks for independent inven- tions, others argue that strong similarities of specific features in panpipes from Asia, Oceania and South America suggest long-distance diffusion events. We examined 20 features of a worldwide sample of 401 panpipes and analysed statistically whether instrument features can successfully be used to deter- mine provenance. The model predictions suggest that panpipes are reliable provenance markers, but we found an unusual classification error in which Melanesian panpipes are predicted as originating in South America. -
Electrophonic Musical Instruments
G10H CPC COOPERATIVE PATENT CLASSIFICATION G PHYSICS (NOTES omitted) INSTRUMENTS G10 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS (NOTES omitted) G10H ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS (electronic circuits in general H03) NOTE This subclass covers musical instruments in which individual notes are constituted as electric oscillations under the control of a performer and the oscillations are converted to sound-vibrations by a loud-speaker or equivalent instrument. WARNING In this subclass non-limiting references (in the sense of paragraph 39 of the Guide to the IPC) may still be displayed in the scheme. 1/00 Details of electrophonic musical instruments 1/053 . during execution only {(voice controlled (keyboards applicable also to other musical instruments G10H 5/005)} instruments G10B, G10C; arrangements for producing 1/0535 . {by switches incorporating a mechanical a reverberation or echo sound G10K 15/08) vibrator, the envelope of the mechanical 1/0008 . {Associated control or indicating means (teaching vibration being used as modulating signal} of music per se G09B 15/00)} 1/055 . by switches with variable impedance 1/0016 . {Means for indicating which keys, frets or strings elements are to be actuated, e.g. using lights or leds} 1/0551 . {using variable capacitors} 1/0025 . {Automatic or semi-automatic music 1/0553 . {using optical or light-responsive means} composition, e.g. producing random music, 1/0555 . {using magnetic or electromagnetic applying rules from music theory or modifying a means} musical piece (automatically producing a series of 1/0556 . {using piezo-electric means} tones G10H 1/26)} 1/0558 . {using variable resistors} 1/0033 . {Recording/reproducing or transmission of 1/057 . by envelope-forming circuits music for electrophonic musical instruments (of 1/0575 . -
Absolute Pitch (AP)
Absolute Pitch (AP) • A.k.a. ‘perfect pitch’ • The ability to name or produce a tone without a reference tone • Very rare: 1 in 10,000 Vs. Relative pitch (RP) • Most people use relative pitch: • Recognizing tones relative to other tones • Remember and produce intervals abstracted from specific pitch, or given a reference pitch AP: how it works • Thought to be a labeling process: – AP possessors associate names/ meaning with pitches or pitch classes – Retain this association over time • AP is not ‘perfect’; i.e., auditory perception/ pitch discrimination not more accurate than RP Imaging evidence • When making judgments using AP: • possessors compared to non- possessors show more activation in frontal naming/labeling areas • Anatomically, AP possessors show greater planum temporale asymmetry – Apparently due to reduced RH PT size AP ‘flavors’ • AP not purely ‘have’ or ‘have-not; ability level varies along continuum • Some possessors make more accurate judgments with certain instruments – e.g. piano vs. pure sine wave tones – Sometimes called ‘absolute piano’ AP ‘flavors’ cont’d • Other possessors may perform more accurately with white-key notes than black-key notes – E.g. C,D,E vs. C#, D# • May be due to early learning influence – Early musical training on keyboard usually starts with white-key notes only • So, is AP learned? Learnable? Nature vs. Nurture, of course • The debate continues: – Some researchers ascribe genetic origins to AP, suspecting that early musical training is neither sufficient nor necessary – Others find most possessors -
Chapter 26 Scales a La Mode
CHAPTER 26 SCALES A LA MODE Musical innovation is full of danger to the State, for when modes of music change, the laws of the State always change with them. PLATO WHAT IS A MODE? A mode is a type of scale. Modes are used in music like salsa, jazz, country, rock, fusion, speed metal, and more. The reason the Chapter image is of musicians jamming is that modes are important to understanding (and using) jazz theory, and helpful if you’re trying to understand improvisation. Certain modes go with certain chords. For more information about modes and their specific uses in jazz, read James Levine’s excellent book, Jazz Theory. On the Web at http://is.gd/iqufof These are also called “church modes” because they were first used in the Catholic Church back in Medieval times (remember good old Guido d’ Arezzo?). The names of the modes were taken from the Greek modes, but other than the names, they have no relation to the Greek modes. The two modes that have been used the most, and the only two most people know, are now called the Major and natural minor scales. Their original names were the Ionian mode (Major), and the Aeolian mode (natural minor). The other modes are: dorian, phrygian, lydian, mixolydian, and locrian. Modes are easy to understand. We’ll map out each mode’s series of whole and half steps and use the key of C so there aren’t any sharps or flats to bother with. THE MODES IONIAN Ionian is used in nearly all Western music, from Acid Rock to Zydeco. -
Classical Net Review
The Internet's Premier Classical Music Source BOOK REVIEW The Psychology of Music Diana Deutsch, editor Academic Press, Third Edition, 2013, pp xvii + 765 ISBN-10: 012381460X ISBN-13: 978-0123814609 The psychology of music was first explored in detail in modern times in a book of that name by Carl E. Seashore… Psychology Of Music was published in 1919. Dover's paperback edition of almost 450 pages (ISBN- 10: 0486218511; ISBN-13: 978-0486218519) is still in print from half a century later (1967) and remains a good starting point for those wishing to understand the relationship between our minds and music, chiefly as a series of physical processes. From the last quarter of the twentieth century onwards much research and many theories have changed the models we have of the mind when listening to or playing music. Changes in music itself, of course, have dictated that the nature of human interaction with it has grown. Unsurprisingly, books covering the subject have proliferated too. These range from examinations of how memory affects our experience of music through various forms of mental disabilities, therapies and deviations from "standard" auditory reception, to attempts to explain music appreciation psychologically. Donald Hodges' and David Conrad Sebald's Music in the Human Experience: An Introduction to Music Psychology (ISBN-10: 0415881862; ISBN-13: 978- 0415881869) makes a good introduction to the subject; while Aniruddh Patel's Music, Language, and the Brain (ISBN-10: 0199755302; ISBN-13: 978-0199755301) is a good (and now classic/reference) overview. Oliver Sacks' Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain (ISBN-10: 1400033535; ISBN-13: 978-1400033539) examines specific areas from a clinical perspective. -
I. the Term Стр. 1 Из 93 Mode 01.10.2013 Mk:@Msitstore:D
Mode Стр. 1 из 93 Mode (from Lat. modus: ‘measure’, ‘standard’; ‘manner’, ‘way’). A term in Western music theory with three main applications, all connected with the above meanings of modus: the relationship between the note values longa and brevis in late medieval notation; interval, in early medieval theory; and, most significantly, a concept involving scale type and melody type. The term ‘mode’ has always been used to designate classes of melodies, and since the 20th century to designate certain kinds of norm or model for composition or improvisation as well. Certain phenomena in folksong and in non-Western music are related to this last meaning, and are discussed below in §§IV and V. The word is also used in acoustical parlance to denote a particular pattern of vibrations in which a system can oscillate in a stable way; see Sound, §5(ii). For a discussion of mode in relation to ancient Greek theory see Greece, §I, 6 I. The term II. Medieval modal theory III. Modal theories and polyphonic music IV. Modal scales and traditional music V. Middle East and Asia HAROLD S. POWERS/FRANS WIERING (I–III), JAMES PORTER (IV, 1), HAROLD S. POWERS/JAMES COWDERY (IV, 2), HAROLD S. POWERS/RICHARD WIDDESS (V, 1), RUTH DAVIS (V, 2), HAROLD S. POWERS/RICHARD WIDDESS (V, 3), HAROLD S. POWERS/MARC PERLMAN (V, 4(i)), HAROLD S. POWERS/MARC PERLMAN (V, 4(ii) (a)–(d)), MARC PERLMAN (V, 4(ii) (e)–(i)), ALLAN MARETT, STEPHEN JONES (V, 5(i)), ALLEN MARETT (V, 5(ii), (iii)), HAROLD S. POWERS/ALLAN MARETT (V, 5(iv)) Mode I. -
Memory and Production of Standard Frequencies in College-Level Musicians Sarah E
University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 2013 Memory and Production of Standard Frequencies in College-Level Musicians Sarah E. Weber University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses Part of the Cognition and Perception Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Music Education Commons, and the Music Theory Commons Weber, Sarah E., "Memory and Production of Standard Frequencies in College-Level Musicians" (2013). Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014. 1162. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/1162 This thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Memory and Production of Standard Frequencies in College-Level Musicians A Thesis Presented by SARAH WEBER Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF MUSIC September 2013 Music Theory © Copyright by Sarah E. Weber 2013 All Rights Reserved Memory and Production of Standard Frequencies in College-Level Musicians A Thesis Presented by SARAH WEBER _____________________________ Gary S. Karpinski, Chair _____________________________ Andrew Cohen, Member _____________________________ Brent Auerbach, Member _____________________________ Jeff Cox, Department Head Department of Music and Dance DEDICATION For my parents and Grandma. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Kristen Wallentinsen for her help with experimental logistics, Renée Morgan for giving me her speakers, and Nathaniel Liberty for his unwavering support, problem-solving skills, and voice-over help.