Scales

Physics
of Music
PHY103
Image from www.guitargrimoire.com/

Diatonic scale

Major scale

WWH WWWH

How universal is this scale?

9,000 Year Old
Chinese Flutes
JUZHONG ZHANG et
al. Nature 1999

One of these flutes can be played:

check the file K-9KChineseFlutes.ram

Excavations at the
nearly Neolithic site
of Jiahu in Henan
Province China have
found the earliest
completely playable
tightly dated
multinote musical
instruments

Neanderthal flute
This bear bone flute, found in Slovenia in 1995, is
believed to be about 50,000 years old.
Differing
hole
spacing
suggest a
scale with
whole and
half note
spacings

Overtones of the string

Diatonic scale
Notes that are
octaves apart are
considered the same
note. x2 in
frequency
An octave+ 1fifth is
the 3rd harmonic of a
string, made by
plucking at (1/3) of
the string
If f is the frequency
of the fundamental
then the third
harmonic is 3f

Fifth

Major scale

WWH WWWH
Drop this down an octave (divide
by 2) and we find that a fifth
should have a frequency of 3/2f

Pythagorus and the circle of fifths

Image from Berg + Stork

Every time you go up a fifth you multiply by 3/2.

Every time you go down an octave you divide by 2.

Pythagorean scale (continued)

third

The major third is up a

fifth 4 times and down an
octave twice

fourth

The fourth is up an octave

and down a fifth

Pythagorean scale (continued)

sixth

The sixth is up a fifth 3

times and down an octave
once

minor
third

The minor third is down a

fifth three times and up
and octave twice.

The musical scale related to pure fractions!

Mathematical beauty is found in music.

octave

fifth
sixth

fourth

third

Pythagorean scale (continued)

The circle doesnt exactly close

What happens if you go up by a fifth 12 times? The
circle of fifths leads us to expect that we will get
back to the same note.
(3/2)12=129.746337890625
An octave is 2 times the base frequency
7 octaves above is 27 times the base frequency.
27=128.0000
However 27 (3/2)12

Getting all the notes

One fifth has to be bad. The Wolf fifth.

So the subdominant chords can be played the
bad fifth is placed between C# and A

Circle of fifths
Guides harmonic
structure and key
signatures for
baroque, romantic
and much folk
music.
Keeping chords in
tune in one key is
sufficient for
much of baroque
and folk music.

Equivalency over the

We associate notes an
octave
octave apart as the
same note
It is difficult to
determine the octave of
a note. Some people
sing an octave off by
mistake.
Other animals (birds)
with not recognize
songs played in a
different octave

Perfect fifths and thirds

Whats so perfect about the perfect fifth?
We started with a harmonic 3f and then took it
down an octave to 3f/2 Frequency ratio 1:3/2
Is the Pythagorean third perfect?
Fifth harmonic 5f is 2octaves +a major third
Take this down two octaves and we find a major
third should be 5f/4 = 1.25f.
Frequency ratio 1:5/4
However the Pythagorean major third is 1:(34/26)
=1.2656

What do they sound like?

Perfect fifth with frequency
ratio 1:3/2
Wolf fifth
(between C# and A )
1:218/311=1.4798
Perfect third
1:5/4
Pythagorean third
1:34/26=1.2656

I used the generate tones

function in the old Audition
Sequence:
Sum of 2 sines prefect,
interval followed by
Pythagorean interval
Then sum of 2 sets of 5
harmonics, perfect inteval
followed by Pythagorean
interval

What do the waveforms look like?

One of these is a perfect third, the other is the

Pythagorean third. Which one is which?

Perfect intervals and periodic

waveforms
A sum of perfect harmonics adds to a
periodic wave --- for sum of frequencies
that are integer ratios - Fourier series
However 5/4 (prefect third) is not an integer
times 1 --- so why does the sum of two
frequencies in the ratio 1:5/4 produce a
periodic waveform?

Major and minor chords

Perfect major third and fifth
Frequency ratios 1:5/4:3/2
For the triad
Major Minor

Minor third
Major third

Minor chord: set the

major third.
Divide the G
frequency by 5/4 so
that the G and E
give a perfect third.
3/2*4/5=6/5
Frequency ratios
1:6/5:3/2 for the triad

Triads
Major triad with perfect major third and
fifth 1:5/4:3/2 The minor third in the triad
has ratio 3/2 divided by 5/4 = 6/5 and so is
perfect or true.
However other thirds and fifths in the scale
will not be true.

Just
temperament
More than one
tuning system
which use as
many perfect
ratios as possible
for one diatonic
scale.

Image From Berg and Stork

The Just Scale

Two different whole tones

T1
=
9/8
T2
=
10/9
One semitone
S
=
16/15

=
=

1.125
1.111

1.067

Listening example (from Butler)

a)

An ascending major scale beginning on C4,

equal temperament followed by the chord
progression I-IV-V7 in Cmajor and in F# major.
b) The same scale but with Pythagorean tuning,
followed by the same chord progression
c) The same scale and chords, quarter comma
meantone temperament (errors distributed in a
few tones)
d) Just intonation

Meantone temperament
In general, a meantone is constructed the same way as
Pythagorean tuning, as a chain of perfect fifths, but in a
meantone, each fifth is narrowed in order to make the other
intervals like the major third closer to their ideal or perfect
just ratios.
Quarter-comma meantone is the most well known type of
meantone temperament, and the term meantone
temperament is often used to refer to it specifically.
Uses exact 5:4s for major thirds, but flattens each of the
fifths by a quarter of a syntonic comma where a syntonic
comma is equal to the frequency ratio 81:80, or around
21.51 cents.

Just intonation
Desirable if only a few instruments are
playing
You want that ringing baroque quality
You are only going to play in one or two
keys.

Equal temperament
Desirable properties of this scale:
Sounds okay for all triads for all keys.
Allows instruments in different keys to play
together more easily
Give up perfect fifths and thirds for a scale
that is good for any key
Makes rapid key changes possible. Led to the
development of a different type of music.

12 tones
To make a tempered scale we need to fit 12
notes within an octave -- between f and 2f
How can we do this?
1) Linearly f(1+n/12)? where n are integers
C

C#

D#

F#

G#

A#

13/
12

7/6

5/4

4/3

17/
12

3/2

19/
12

5/3

7/4

11/
6

23/
12

Problems with this: 1) it sounds bad, 2) Makes no sense

in the next octave where interval would have to be 2f/12

Equal Temperament
How else can we make 12 even divisions between 1 and 2?
2) With multiplicative factors: An where A is a factor and n
are integers Even in log space
A0=1.0 and we want A12=2.0.
Solve this (take the 12th root of both sides of the equation).
We find A = 21/12=1.05946
C

C#

D#

F#

1.059

1.1225 1.1893 1.2601 1.3351 1.4145 1.4987 1.5978 1.6823 1.7824 1.8885

Not too far

from a perfect
third

G#

A#

Pretty close to a perfect fifth

Nearly a perfect fourth

C
2

Equally spaced by
multiplicative factors
The closer to the
bridge the closer the
frets
How big is 21/12?

Listening examples, log and

linear spacings
ASADemo18
8 note diatonic scale
13 note chromatic scale

Cents
The cents scale

Cents=1200 log2(f/f1)
If f/f1 = 2, then
The octave = 1200 cents
The interval between two scale notes that
are a half step apart is 100 cents

Turning notes and cents into

frequencies
What is the frequency of C#4 +25cents
C#4 is 277.18Hz
225/1200=1.0145453
277.18 x 225/1200 = 281.21 Hz
What if I want C#4 -25 cents?

Equal temperament
Intervals are NOT exact integer ratios.
What does it mean to add two sine waves
that are not integer multiples of each other?
------ What difference is there in the
waveform?

Attempts at new scales

Harry Partchs tuning
American composer Harry Partch (1901-1974) based all of his mature
musical compositions on a musical scale tuned in just intonation and
based on the 11-limit tonality diamond, played on instruments he
designed and built himself to be played in that tuning. The number of
notes varied for a time from about 29 to 55, until he finally settled on a
scale of 43 tones to the octave (his identity interval, which Partch
always referred to by its frequency ratio 2/1).
Partch's tuning is often called "extended just intonation", because
traditional just intonation used ratios with only the prime-factors 2, 3,
and 5, whereas Partch added 7 and 11 to these.
As described by
Joe Monzo

from
http://
www.microtonalsynthesis.com

Partchs tonality diamond

Check out a version on this web site that lets you listen to the notes
http://prodgers13.home.comcast.net/Sub_Pages/DiamondMarimba.html

Partchs and
Partch-era
compositions
Two Studies on Ancient Greek Scales
`Columbus by Dean Drummond
For flute (Stefi Starrin)+zoomoozophone (Dean
Drummond, Dominic Donato, James Pugliese) -percussion instrument with 31 tones
From the CD Microtonal Works by Partch, Cage, LaBarbara, Drummond

Microtonal music
This is a piece for flute, clarinet, finger
piano, guitar, and percussion. It's based on
the 10:11:12:13:14:16:18:20 septany.
By Prent Rodgers -for the downridders

From Hopkin

19 tone tempered scale

What happens when you play simultaneously in different tunings? Each

note in this 19-tet melody is ``harmonized" by a note from 12-tet,
resulting in some unusual nonharmonic sound textures. The distinction
between ``timbre" and ``harmony" becomes confused, although the
piece is by no means confusing.
Incidence Coincidence by William A. Sethares
Played with an astral guitar built with 19 tones in each octave.
Sympathetic metaphor

Adaptive tunings
As each new note sounds, its pitch (and that of all currently sounding
notes) is adjusted microtonally (based on its spectrum) to maximize
consonance. The adaptation causes interesting glides and microtonal
pitch adjustments in a perceptually sensible fashion.
Three Ears by William A. Sethares

Gamelan tones
Cook demo 68 (From
the book edited by
Perry Cook)
Gamelon music example
Sample tune in Bali tuning
probe tone
Repeat of tune
another probe tone
Notes are out of tune compared
to the tempered scale

Pierce Scale
The Bohlen-Pierce scale repeats
every tritave (1:3; 1: octave+5th)
rather than every octave.
The tetrad 3:5:7:9 is
fundamental to the scale.
13 chromatic tones separated by
a factor
9 main scale notes from the 13
Cook demo 62

Ragas
Based on the Raga guide (edited by Joep Bor)
7 basic tones or scale degrees are used in classic Indian
music
Sa Re Ga Ma Oa Dha and Ni.
Twelve semitones are available. However typically only 7
are in the scale at a time. The first and fifth scale degree
cannot be altered. However the other 5 can be adjusted.
Lowered by a semi-tone (komal) Re Ga Dha Ni
Like flats
Raised by a semi-tone only Ma tivra Like a sharp

Indian music and pitch

While Indian musicians have a great sense of accuracy in
pitch, however there is no fixed or absolute pitch for notes.
Large microtonal variations... and these are carefully
played by the musician.
What is a raga?
Associated with a particular theme scale and tune. Tonal
framework for composition.
Ragas from CDs with the Raga Guide A survey of 74
Hindustani Ragas

Alhaiya bilaval
time: late morning
major scale

performed by Shruti
Sadolikar-Katkar

Abhogi - Early night

performance by
Hariprasad
Chaurasia

Recommended Reading
Berg and Stork Chap 9
Hopkin Chap 3 and appendix 2
Loy, Chapter 3