Holder's Comma

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Holder's Comma THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 1/104 Summary 1 Introduction 3 2 Some physics: harmonics, partials and inharmonicity 4 3 Pythagoreas and the classical musical notation 10 4 Zarlino: coming closer to Physics 21 5 The genesis of Harmony: Musica Recta, Musica Ficta 31 6 Time-frequency diagrams and the analysis of music 36 7 The organ and the synthesis of sound colour 43 8 Stringed keyboards: from the harpsichord to the pianoforte 52 THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 2/104 1 Introduction Is there any serious tonal theory behind music? or: why are there 12 notes on each octave on a piano? Many interval systems in the world 7 note gamut (Occidental system) in reality 12 notes are used in modern music but many more have a name! European Medieval and Renaissance music use more refined scales. Middle-Eastern musical systems: 24 notes (“quarter tones”) and many others... THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 3/104 2 Some physics: harmonics, partials and inharmonicity THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 4/104 2.1 What is an octave? Sound ‘modulo...’ a frequency factor 2. Our auditory cortex has got a built-in “logarithmic modulo 2” is it reasonably accurate? General philosophy: just like with vision, the audio information that comes to the conscious level: • is not the sound, • is not the frequencies, • it is actually an attempt at identifying the physical source of the sound. Similarity with vision: Human vision is the process of reconstructing a physical object from its image(s). Human audition is the process of reconstructing an object from the sound(s) it produces. Biological point of view... THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 5/104 2.2 Musical objects and the lattice of harmonics Here, we assume a string is perfectly elastic. Metal strings are relatively recent... • Gut • Copper • Brass • Bronze • Iron • Steel • Nylon • PVF (PolyVinylFluor) • Self overspinning (gut, PVF) • Classical overspinning: • metal (aluminium, brass, silver) over gut or PVF (plucked and bowed instruments) • metal over metal: annealed copper over iron or steel (pianos) • close or open THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 6/104 Fundamental frequency f , harmonic # n has frequency nf . Decomposition into a product of prime numbers: n = 2u × 3x × 5y × 7z × 11t... Striking point + internal damping → reduce higher harmonics Hearing modulo 2 → eliminate 2u The meaningful harmonics are given by n = 3x × 5y × 7z × 11t... Internal damping, choice of striking points and initial conditions (e.g. piano hammer curvature) reduce higher harmonics. Algebraists call this a lattice structure. [Electronicians also work on lattice structures: Boolean algebras are defined as ’distributive complemented lattices’. Karnaugh diagrams are a consequence of this lattice structure] The useful harmonics are given by n = 3x × 5y × 7z and even, in most stringed instruments, by n = 3x THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 7/104 2.3 String vibrating modes tension T = π ρ d2 F2 L2 1 T f requency F = d L π ρ For a perfectly flexible string, partial #n has frequency: n T F = n F = n d L π ρ thus each string produces a series of partials with relative frequencies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8... ‘harmonics’ but in reality, due to string stiffness, the actual frequency of partial #n is higher than the harmonic: 1/2 ( 2) f n = n F 1 + B n using the basic inharmonicity coefficient π2 E S K2 B = T L2 E is the Young’s modulus, only depending on the string’s material. = d For a round section string, K 4 (gyration radius) and π2 E d2 B = 64 ρ For example if B = 0.005 the partials will be 1; 2 (1 + 4B)1/2 ≈ 2 × 1.01; 3 (1 + 9B)1/2 ≈ 3 × 1.022; 4 (1 + 16B)1/2 ≈ 4 × 1.039, etc. THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 8/104 Reference: Fletcher (Neville H.), Thomas D. Rossing, The Physics of Musical Instruments, 2nd edition, Springer1998-99. THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 9/104 3 Pythagoras and the classical musical notation THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 10/104 3.1 Pythagoras and the harmonic 3 We are working in frequencies ‘modulo a factor 2’ Let us choose a frequency FF (say = 1) and work out its harmonics 3x As we work modulo a factor 2, let us see how the numbers 3x × 2y are spread on the scale of frequencies. CD E F G A B C The sequence of the first 7 Pythagorean harmonics: FCGDAEB (natural order), or ABCDEFG (frequency order): tonality of C. This is one of the simplest possible musical systems. It is possible to make music using 7 tones. Their order of appearance is F C G D A E B. Actually they are named after the order of their frequencies: A B C D E F G. The tradition in the Western musical systems is to call C (the second tone of the sequence) the Tonic. F the Subdominant and G the Dominant. If we take the tonic C as a point of departure, the interval widths are: large, large, small, large, large, large, small. Now it is of course possible to use another note than F as a point of departure of the sequence FCGDAEB. For example lets take C. The new sequence is: CGDAEBX where X is a new frequency. We have to give a name to X; as the name F is no longer used in this new system, we recycle the name F and write the sign # to avoid any confusion with the old F. This is how key signatures are made – and why there is one # in G major, two ## in D major, etc. X = F# CD E F G A B C The new sequence using C as a point of departure (tonality of G) THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 11/104 Reb Mib Solb Lab Sib Reb Do Do# Re Re# Mi Fa Fa# Sol Sol# La La# Si Do Do# Enriching the scale: more tones upwards and backwards This is the basis of the standard musical notation and the infinite Pythagorean scale: ... Ebb Bbb Fb Cb Gb Db Ab Eb Bb F C G D A E B F# C# G# D# A# E# B# Fx Cx Gx ... tone of C: –––^––––––––––––––– no alteration tone of G: –––^––––––––––––––– one # tone of D: –––^––––––––––––––– ## tone of A: –––^––––––––––––––– ### tone of F: –––^––––––––––––––– one b tone of Bb: –––^––––––––––––––– bb tone of Eb: –––^––––––––––––––– bbb etc. hence the classical ‘key signatures’ which tell the tonality: here are the most frequent ones: THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 12/104 The most frequent key signatures and the corresponding tonalities. THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 13/104 Tuning with pure "fifths" (harmonic no. 3) shows the Pythagorean comma: 312 / 2something THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 14/104 ...and some flats. This may be pushed to infinity, an endless story... THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 15/104 THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 16/104 The infinite system of music as it is written: THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 17/104 The Pythagorean scale is infinite. This is because the equation: − 3x 2 y = 1 has no solution with positive integers. However we should be so glad to be able to eventually fall back into our shoes rather than having an infinity of keys at each octave – in other terms, are there approximate solutions to this equation? The first solution is x = 7, y = 11. 2187 3x 2y = ≈ 1.068 2048 which is a very crude approximation. It would result in dividing the octave into 7 equal intervals. The second solution is x = 12, y = 19 . 531441 3x 2y = = 1.0136 524288 which is the basis for the ‘equal temperament’, a very old system (China, ca. 2000 B.C.?) that has re- appeared in Europe during the late 18th Century, as a simplification of the more refined previous systems. The third solution is x = 43, y = 68. 3.282569674 E20 3x 2y = = 1.1122 2.951479052 E20 and the fourth solution is x = 53, y = 84. 1.938324567 E25 3x 2y = = 1.0021 1.934281311 E25 The latter is remarkably accurate. It results into the octave being divided into 53 equal micro-intervals, called ‘Holder’s Comma’. The difference with the exact Pythagorean frequencies are smaller than anything audible. THE FOUNDATIONS OF MUSICAL SYSTEMS Jean Louchet 18th December 2012 Hogeschool Gent page 18/104 Reb Eb Gb Ab Bb Db C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C C# The 53 interval system: a good approximation - one Pythagorean comma is not far from 1/53 octave (Holder comma). If we express the Pythagorean system into Holder’s commas, we have: C - D 9 commas D - E 9 commas E - F 4 commas F - G 9 commas G - A 9 commas A - B 9 commas B - C 4 commas The interval between a note and the homologous sharp or flat note (e.g.
Recommended publications
  • Pietro Aaron on Musica Plana: a Translation and Commentary on Book I of the Libri Tres De Institutione Harmonica (1516)
    Pietro Aaron on musica plana: A Translation and Commentary on Book I of the Libri tres de institutione harmonica (1516) Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Matthew Joseph Bester, B.A., M.A. Graduate Program in Music The Ohio State University 2013 Dissertation Committee: Graeme M. Boone, Advisor Charles Atkinson Burdette Green Copyright by Matthew Joseph Bester 2013 Abstract Historians of music theory long have recognized the importance of the sixteenth- century Florentine theorist Pietro Aaron for his influential vernacular treatises on practical matters concerning polyphony, most notably his Toscanello in musica (Venice, 1523) and his Trattato della natura et cognitione de tutti gli tuoni di canto figurato (Venice, 1525). Less often discussed is Aaron’s treatment of plainsong, the most complete statement of which occurs in the opening book of his first published treatise, the Libri tres de institutione harmonica (Bologna, 1516). The present dissertation aims to assess and contextualize Aaron’s perspective on the subject with a translation and commentary on the first book of the De institutione harmonica. The extensive commentary endeavors to situate Aaron’s treatment of plainsong more concretely within the history of music theory, with particular focus on some of the most prominent treatises that were circulating in the decades prior to the publication of the De institutione harmonica. This includes works by such well-known theorists as Marchetto da Padova, Johannes Tinctoris, and Franchinus Gaffurius, but equally significant are certain lesser-known practical works on the topic of plainsong from around the turn of the century, some of which are in the vernacular Italian, including Bonaventura da Brescia’s Breviloquium musicale (1497), the anonymous Compendium musices (1499), and the anonymous Quaestiones et solutiones (c.1500).
    [Show full text]
  • Musical Techniques
    Musical Techniques Musical Techniques Frequencies and Harmony Dominique Paret Serge Sibony First published 2017 in Great Britain and the United States by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned address: ISTE Ltd John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 27-37 St George’s Road 111 River Street London SW19 4EU Hoboken, NJ 07030 UK USA www.iste.co.uk www.wiley.com © ISTE Ltd 2017 The rights of Dominique Paret and Serge Sibony to be identified as the authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Library of Congress Control Number: 2016960997 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-78630-058-4 Contents Preface ........................................... xiii Introduction ........................................ xv Part 1. Laying the Foundations ............................ 1 Introduction to Part 1 .................................. 3 Chapter 1. Sounds, Creation and Generation of Notes ................................... 5 1.1. Physical and physiological notions of a sound .................. 5 1.1.1. Auditory apparatus ............................... 5 1.1.2. Physical concepts of a sound .......................... 7 1.1.3.
    [Show full text]
  • Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science. Volume 2, Mathematics
    Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science Volume 2 Edited by ROSHDI RASHED in collaboration with RÉGIS MORELON LONDON AND NEW YORK First published in 1996 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. Structure and editorial matter © 1996 Routledge The chapters © 1996 Routledge All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available on request. ISBN 0-203-40360-6 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-71184-X (Adobe ebook Reader Format) ISBN 0-415-12411-5 (Print Edition) 3 volume set ISBN 0-415-02063-8 Contents VOLUME 1 Contents v Preface ix 1 General survey of Arabic astronomy Régis Morelon 1 2 Eastern Arabic astronomy between the eighth and the eleventh centuries 20 Régis Morelon 3 Arabic planetary theories after the eleventh century AD 58 George Saliba 4 Astronomy and
    [Show full text]
  • On the Bimodular Approximation and Equal Temperaments
    On the Bimodular Approximation and Equal Temperaments Martin Gough DRAFT June 8 2014 Abstract The bimodular approximation, which has been known for over 300 years as an accurate means of computing the relative sizes of small (sub-semitone) musical intervals, is shown to provide a remarkably good approximation to the sizes of larger intervals, up to and beyond the size of the octave. If just intervals are approximated by their bimodular approximants (rational numbers defined as frequency difference divided by frequency sum) the ratios between those intervals are also rational, and under certain simply stated conditions can be shown to coincide with the integer ratios which equal temperament imposes on the same intervals. This observation provides a simple explanation for the observed accuracy of certain equal divisions of the octave including 12edo, as well as non-octave equal temperaments such as the fifth-based temperaments of Wendy Carlos. Graphical presentations of the theory provide further insights. The errors in the bimodular approximation can be expressed as bimodular commas, among which are many commas featuring in established temperament theory. Introduction Just musical intervals are characterised by small-integer ratios between frequencies. Equal temperaments, by contrast, are characterised by small-integer ratios between intervals. Since interval is the logarithm of frequency ratio, it follows that an equal temperament which accurately represents just intervals embodies a set of rational approximations to the logarithms (to some suitable base) of simple rational numbers. This paper explores the connection between these rational logarithmic approximations and those obtained from a long-established rational approximation to the logarithm function – the bimodular approximation.
    [Show full text]
  • Sagittal a Microtonal Notation System
    Sagittal A Microtonal Notation System by George D. Secor and David C. Keenan Introduction George Secor began development of the Sagittal (pronounced “SAJ-i-tl”) notation system in August 2001. In January 2002 he presented what he had developed to the Yahoo group tuning and offered to consider suggestions for improvements. At that stage the system could notate the equal temperaments with 17, 19, 22, 29, 31, 41, and 72 divisions per octave. Little did he know that he had provided a unifying symbolic principle which would ultimately be developed into a system capable of notating almost any conceivable microtonal tuning. In the early stages of the discussion, one idea that surfaced repeatedly was that a set of symbols indicating prime-number commatic alterations to tones in a Pythagorean series might be used to notate both rational intervals (e.g. just intonation) and equal divisions of the octave. Similar ideas had previously been proposed by Hermann Helmholtz, Alexander Ellis, Carl Eitz, Paul Rapoport, Daniel Wolf, Joe Monzo, and others1, but these had never been implemented in a performance notation to such an extent as was being discussed. As a first step, Gene Ward Smith suggested that it would be desirable that there be no more than one comma symbol per prime number, and a selection of 19-limit commas was tentatively identified to define the semantics of the notation. David Keenan enthusiastically observed that these commas came in an assortment of sizes that made the objective theoretically feasible, but he also realized that devising a set of distinct and recognizable symbols suitable for a performance notation was not going to be a simple matter.
    [Show full text]
  • FD2020 Full-Proceedngs-160920-V3
    Proceedings of the 36th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Psychophysics Fechner Day 2020 {Online} October 19-22, 2020 1 Published by the International Society for Psychophysics, 2020. Cover Image: Markus Spiske Cover design: Jordan Richard Schoenherr Title: Proceedings of the 36th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Psychophysics Fechner Day 2020 Edited by Jordan Richard Schoenherr, Timothy Hubbard, William Stine, and Craig Leth-Steensen for the International Society for Psychophysics. All papers are considered nonarchival, representing working papers of the authors. The International Society for Psychophysics does not hold any rights to the works contained herein which remain the intellectual property of the authors. Please contact the authors listed in the respective extended abstracts or papers for further details. Table of Contents Table of Contents ....................................................................................................... 3 Preface ......................................................................................................................... 4 Schedule ....................................................................................................................... 6 Abstracts and Papers ................................................................................................. 9 3 Preface Welcome to the 36th Annual Conference of the International Society for Psychophysics, Fechner Day 2020! As a member of the Executive Committee, I am pleased to welcome
    [Show full text]
  • Music Theory Contents
    Music theory Contents 1 Music theory 1 1.1 History of music theory ........................................ 1 1.2 Fundamentals of music ........................................ 3 1.2.1 Pitch ............................................. 3 1.2.2 Scales and modes ....................................... 4 1.2.3 Consonance and dissonance .................................. 4 1.2.4 Rhythm ............................................ 5 1.2.5 Chord ............................................. 5 1.2.6 Melody ............................................ 5 1.2.7 Harmony ........................................... 6 1.2.8 Texture ............................................ 6 1.2.9 Timbre ............................................ 6 1.2.10 Expression .......................................... 7 1.2.11 Form or structure ....................................... 7 1.2.12 Performance and style ..................................... 8 1.2.13 Music perception and cognition ................................ 8 1.2.14 Serial composition and set theory ............................... 8 1.2.15 Musical semiotics ....................................... 8 1.3 Music subjects ............................................. 8 1.3.1 Notation ............................................ 8 1.3.2 Mathematics ......................................... 8 1.3.3 Analysis ............................................ 9 1.3.4 Ear training .......................................... 9 1.4 See also ................................................ 9 1.5 Notes ................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Proquest Dissertations
    00 UNIVERSITÉ D'OTTAWA ~ ÉCOLE DES GRADUÉS L'EPISTOLA DE ARMONICA INSTITVTIONE DE REGINON DE PRUM TEXTE ETABLI, TRADUIT ET COMMENTE par Yvon Chartier Thèse présentée à la Faculté des Arts de l'Université d'Ottawa en vue de l'obtention de la maîtrise es arts en langue et littérature latines. 1/ V 1 ^ * »// ^ , ,ij ç ^ Vf Ottawa, Canada \ J V 1965 Sy \/\ JJ UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA" - lSHBOLtt>F CRADUATE STUDIES UMI Number EC56055 INFORMATION TO USERS The quahty of this reproduction is dépendent upon the quahty of the copy submitted Broken or indistinct pnnt, colored or poor quahty illustrations and photographs, pnnt bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction In the unhkely event that the author did not send a complète manuscnpt and there are missing pages, thèse will be noted AIso, if unauthorized copyright matenal had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion UMI UMI Microform EC56055 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC Ail nghts reserved This microform édition is protected against unauthorized copying underTitle 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway PO Box 1346 AnnArbor, Ml 48106-1346 UNIVERSITÉ D'OTTAWA ~ ÉCOLE DES GRADUÉS RECONNAISSANCE Cette thèse a été préparée sous la direction du R. P. Etienne Gareau, o.m.i., docteur de l'Université de Paris, auquel l'auteur tient à marquer ici sa reconnaissance pour ses conseils judicieux et sa généreuse assistance. Nous tenons à manifester une gratitude particulière à l'endroit du Service de prêts entre bibliothèques de l'Université d'Ottawa, sans la collaboration duquel le pré­ sent travail eût été impossible.
    [Show full text]
  • Mémoire Tentamen
    Travail d'étude personnel Cycle supérieur Un regard musicien sur l'essai de 1739 de Leonhard Euler Élève : Samuel Plantard Tuteur : Pierre Cazes Année scolaire 2018/2019 Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris Communication des mémoires et travaux d’étude personnels (TEP) Je, soussigné Plantard, Samuel, auteur du travail écrit intitulé Tentamen novae musicae theoriae, un regard musicien sur l'essai de 1739 de Leonhard Euler, déclare autoriser la libre consultation de cet ouvrage. J’autorise sa mise en ligne sur le site du Conservatoire X oui £ non J’autorise les copies de l’exemplaire déposé à la médiathèque £ oui X non Tentamen novae theoriae musicae ex certissimis harmoniae principiis dilucide expositae (ou Essai d’une nouvelle théorie de la musique exposée en toute clarté selon les principes de l’harmonie les mieux fondés) est le premier ouvrage d’une partie méconnue de l’œuvre de Leonhard Euler, portant sur la musique. Le célèbre mathématicien y expose les fondements d’une théorie originale de l’harmonie, avant de l’appliquer à la musique en général. Le but de ce travail est d’approcher de la perspective du musicien ce qui jusqu’à présent n’a été envisagé que par des scientifiques experts. Nous y resituons le système eulérien dans son contexte historique, avant d’en développer l’enjeu musical. Puis nous exposons les principes du suavitatis gradus - élément phare de l’essai d’Euler - avant de détailler ses applications musicales, à savoir les genres de musique, les genres d’accords et les modes, espérant rendre ces notions plus accessibles aux musiciens d’aujourd’hui, et encourager ces derniers à parcourir eux-mêmes les pages du traité d’Euler.
    [Show full text]
  • Pythagorean Plato
    The Pythagorean Plato The Pythagorean Plato Prelude to the Song Itself Ernest G. McClain Nicolas-Hays, Inc. York Beach, Maine First published in 1978 by Nicolas-Hays, Inc. Box 612 York Beach, Maine 03910 First paperback edition 1984 Copyright © Ernest G. McClain ISBN 0-89254-010-9 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 77-13355 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Distributed by Samuel Weiser, Inc. Box 612 York Beach, Maine 03910 Printed in the United States by Mitchell-Shear, Ann Arbor, Michigan to Ernst Levy musician, philosopher, friend The consideration of which numbers are concordant and which not, and why in each case . don't we know that all of this is a prelude to the song itself, . .. the song itself that dialectic performs? (Republic 531c-532a) Contents Acknowledgements vii Charts and Tables ix 1. Introduction 1 2. The Marriage Allegory (Republic) 17 3. The Tyrant's Allegory (Republic) 33 4. The Myth of Er (Republic) 41 5. The Creation of the World-Soul (Timaeus) 57 6. Ancient Athens (Critias) 71 7. Atlantis (Critias) 77 8. Magnesia (Laws) 97 9. Plato's Musical Trigonometry 117 10. Conclusions 127 Appendices I. Historical Commentary 135 II. Conversion Tables 165 III. Tone Numbers in the Marriage Allegory 167 IV. Introduction to the Monochord 169 Footnotes 177 Index 189 Acknowledgements My book develops certain musical insights of Ernst Levy and Siegmund Levarie into Pythagoreanism in general and Plato in particular, and owes its existence to their encouragement and assistance over a period of many years.
    [Show full text]
  • List of the General Musical Articles. Vol 1 A
    The general music articles in Rees’s Cyclopaedia by Dr Charles Burney, John Farey Sr. & John Farey Jr. Edited by A. P. Woolrich 08/08/2020 1 List of the General musical articles. APPOGGIATURA (CB) APPRECIATION (CB) They are not in true alphabetical order, since in the ARABIAN MUSIC (CB) original, topics beginning I, J and U, W, were ARIA, IN MUSIC (CB) conflated, so here they are in the order they ARIETTA (CB) appeared in the published volumes. ARMONICA (CB) They are coded by the authors’ initials: ARPEGGIO (CB) (CB) – Charles Burney ARSIS AND THESIS (CB) (JF1) – John Farey Sr (JF2) – John Farey Jr Vol 3 Artery-Battersea – P. 30 A number of the the topics listed are short cross - references or dictionary definitions. ARTICULATION IN VOCAL MUSIC (CB) ARTIFICIAL IN MUSIC (CB) Vol 1 A-Amarathides – P. 11 ATTACCO (CB) AUBADE (CB) ABYSSINIAN MUSIC (CB) AUTHENTIC IN MUSIC (CB) ACADEMY (CB) BACCHANALIA (CB) ACCELERANDO (CB) BAGPIPE (CB) ACCENT (CB) BALALAIKA (CB) ACCIACATURA (CB) BALET DE LA ROYNE (CB) ACCIDENTAL (CB) BALLAD (CB) ACCOMPANIMENT (CB) BALLET (CB) ACUMEN (CB) BAR, IN MUSIC (CB) ACUTE (CB) BARBITON (CB) AD LIBITUM (CB) BARCAROLLA (CB) ADAGIO (CB) BARDS (CB) ÆOLIUS’S HARP (CB) BARYPYCNI (CB) AGENTE (CB) BASE, IN MUSIC (CB) AGOGE IN ANCIENT MUSIC (CB) BASSE FUNDAMENTALE (CB) AIR, IN MUSIC BASE-VIOL (CB) A-LA-MI-RE (CB) BASSE DE FLUTE TRAVERSE (CB) ALLEGRO (CB) BASSE FLUTE (CB) AL SEGNOCB (CB) BASSE TONIQUE (CB) ALTERATE (CB) BASSO CONTINUO (CB) ALTO, HIGH (CB) BASSO STRETTO (CB) BASSO CANTATE (CB) Vol 2 Amarantus-Arteriotomy – P.
    [Show full text]
  • Contemporary Microtonal Music and Its Relationship to Past Practice
    Contents p. 3 Introduction p. 4 Ancient (pre-500 CE) and Early microtonal practices, systems, stylistics: Medieval (500-1400), Renaissance (1400-1600), Baroque (1600-1760), Ingram, Dumbril, Plato, Pythagoras, Heptagrams, Babylonia, Assyria, and Greco-Arab Texts p 7 Ancient practices and oral traditions p. 10 Al-Farabi, 17TET system, kitab al-Adwa, al-Andalas and barzok p. 14 Common microtonal practices, systems, stylistics (1600-1900): Baroque (1600-1760), Classical (1730-1820), Romantic (1815-1910) Bach, equal temperament, Glarean p. 17 Jamaica and Africa, Koromanti and Angola, Ethiopian bowl lyre (krar), Quadrille music in Carriacou p. 18 Post-romantic and Pre-modernism, experimental, Carrillo, Ives, Rimsky-Korsakov, Russolo, Experimentalism, polytonality, tone clusters, aleatorics, quarter-tones, polyrhythmic p. 19 Contemporary & modern microtonal practices, systems, stylistics: Modern (1890-1930), 20 th century (1901-2000), Contemporary (1975-present), Modernism, Dadaism, serialism, microtonality, Verèse, Webern, Wyschnegradsky, Hába, Carillo, Villa-Lobos, Ives, Partch, Cowell p. 22 Yasser, infra-diatonicism, supra-diatonicism, evolving tonality p. 31 Darmstadt, neotonality, dodecophony, Stockhausen, Boulez p. 30 22TET, A Just 12-tone scale built on powers of 3 and 5, diminished 7th blue note, 1960s Rio de Janiero Jazz, Bossa Nova, US jazz, flattened 5th and hexatonics in the Blues, New Orleans resurgence, Copacabana p. 34 Pitch and cognitive acculturation, development of musical thought and thought in sound, schematic and veridical expectancy, mistuning perception p. 37 Just, Bohlen-Pierce scale, Wusta-Zalzal, Masonic ratios, 22 tone system of India, Ragas, Messiaen, Babbitt, Cage, Young, French Spectralists, 53TET, 19TET, Bagpipe tuning p. 48 Midi, scale perception, semiotics, notation, re-creation, Turkish, Eskimo, Indonesian Slendro in 5TET (Salendro), Thai 7TET p.
    [Show full text]