MUSICAL ACOUSTICS
MUSICAL SCALES AND
TEMPERAMENT
The Science of Sound, Chapter 9
MUSICAL SCALES AND TEMPERAMENT
SCALE – A SUCCESSION OF NOTES IN ASCENDING ORDER
(e.g., PYTHAGOREAN, JUST, MEANTONE, EQUAL
TEMPERAMENT)
TUNING – ADJUSTMENT OF PITCH TO CORRESPOND TO AN
ACCEPTED NORM
TEMPERAMENT – A SYSTEM OF TUNING IN WHICH
INTERVALS DEVIATE FROM ACOUSTICALLY PURE
(PYTHAGOREAN)
INTONATION – DEGREE OF ACCURACY WITH WHICH
PITCHES ARE PRODUCED
THE PYTHAGOREAN SCALE
CREATES THE GREATEST NUMBER OF
PERFECT FOURTHS AND FIFTHS
ALL NOTES CAN
CIRCLE OF FIFTHS BE REACHED BY
GOING UP (OR
DOWN)
12 FIFTHS OR
12 FOURTHS
(3/2)12 = 129.7
BUT
27 = 128,
SO
12 PERFECT
FIFTHS IS
7¼ OCTAVES
FREQUENCY RATIOS OF NOTES IN THE PYTHAGOREAN SCALE
MEANTONE TEMPERAMENT
NUMEROUS ALTERATIONS TO THE PYTHAGOREAN
SCALE HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED
NEARLY ALL OF THEM FLAT THE THIRD
QUARTER – COMMA MEANTONE
PYTHAGOREAN C D E F G A B
C
MEANTONE C D-½ E- F+¼ G-¼ A-¾ B-5/4
C
= SYNTONIC COMMA, RATIO OF 1.0125
ONE SIZE OF WHOLE TONE √ 5/4 = 1.118
SCALE OF JUST INTONATION
BASED ON THE MAJOR TRIAD (e.g., C: E: G)
NOTES HAVE RATIOS 4: 5: 6 FOR MAXIMUM CONSONANCE
MOST CONSONANT INTERVALS (SEE CHAPTER 8)
2 : 1 OCTAVE
3 : 2 PERFECT FIFTH
4 : 3 PERFECT FOURTH
5 : 3 MAJOR SIXTH
5 : 4 MAJOR THIRD
8 : 5 MINOR SIXTH
6 : 5 MINOR THIRD
THREE MAJOR TRIADS IN A MAJOR SCALE:
TONIC, DOMINANT, SUB-DOMINANT (I, V, IV)
NOTE THAT E IS A MAJOR THIRD ABOVE C, F IS A PERFECT FOURTH ABOVE C,
AND G IS A PERFECT FIFTH ABOVE C. NEXT CONSIDER THE INTERVALS
BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE NOTES:
D TO E IS 5/4 ÷ 9/8 = 10/9; E to F is 4/3 ÷ 5/4 = 16/15; G TO F IS 3/2 ÷ 4/3 =9/8, AND
SO ON. IN FACT, WE OBSERVE THAT THERE ARE ONLY THREE DIFFERENT
INTERVALS AS YOU WILL SEE ON THE NEXT PAGE, AND THEY HAVE RATIOS
9/8, 10/9, AND 16/15. THE INTERVAL CORRESPONDING TO 9/8 IS CALLED A
MAJOR WHOLE TONE, THE INTERVAL 10/9 A MINOR WHOLE TONE.
PROBLEMS WITH THE JUST SCALE:
•SOME FIFTHS ARE IMPERFECT (e.g., D:A = 1.48)
•SOME FOURTHS ARE IMPERFECT
•Ab IS HIGHER THAN G#
•THE JUST SCALE HAS NEVER BEEN OF MUCH PRACTICAL USE
FREQUENCY RATIOS OF NOTES IN THE JUST DIATONIC SCALE
NUMBERS IN THE BOTTOM ROW GIVE INTERVALS BETWEEN TWO
ADJACENT NOTES.
SCALE OF EQUAL TEMPERAMENT
DIVIDES THE OCTAVE INTO 12 EQUAL SEMITONES
THEREFORE, FREQUENCY RATIOS ARE 21/12 = 1.05946
WHOLE TONE IS (1.05946)2 = 1.12246
A FIFTH IS (1.05946)7 = 1.48
A FOURTH IS (1.05946)5 = 1.335
A MAJOR THIRD IS (1.05946)4 = 1.260
A MINOR THIRD IS (1.05946)3 = 1.189
CONVERSION FROM INTERVAL IN CENTS I(¢) TO FREQUENCY
RATIO R:
R= 10 (I log2/1200)
I (¢) = 1200 log R/log 2 = 3986 log R
OCTAVE = 1200¢ (when R=2, I(¢)=1200)
COMPARISON OF PYTHAGOREAN, JUST, AND EQUAL
TEMPERAMENT SCALES ON A SCALE OF CENTS
MUSICAL INTERVALS IN VARIOUS TUNINGS
FREQUENCIES
OF NOTES IN
TEMPERED
SCALE
NOTES OF SCALES BASED ON C
COMPARISON OF SCALES
CIRCLES OF FIFTHS
24 CENTS IS SOMETIMES CALLED THE PYTHAGOREAN COMMA
(R=1.512 / 27 = 129.7/128)
OTHER MEANTONE TEMPERAMENTS
QUARTER-COMMA IS ONLY TRUE MEANTONE TERMPERAMENT
BECAUSE IT IS DERIVED FROM THE MEAN OF MAJOR
AND MINOR TONES HAVING FREQUENCY RATIOS OF 5/4 AND
4/3
OTHER MEANTONE TEMPERAMENTS ARE POSSIBLE, HOWEVER
1/3 – COMMA MEANTONE (SALINAS):
NOTE: C D E F G A B C
CENTS: 0 190 379 505 695 884 1074 1200
REGULAR TEMPERAMENT: WHOLE TONES AND FIFTHS HAVE
FIXED VALUES
CIRCULAR TEMPERAMENT: CIRCLE OF FIFTHS CLOSES (NO GAP OR
OVERLAP)
EXAMPLE: WERKMEISTER III: PROBABLY USED BY BACH FOR HIS 24
PRELUDES AND FUGUES FOR THE WELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER
WELL TEMPERAMENT
WELL TEMPERED MEANS THAT THE TWELVE NOTES PER OCTAVE ARE
TUNED IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO PLAY MUSIC IN MOST
MAJOR OR MINOR KEYS, AND IT WILL NOT SOUND PERCEPTIBLY OUT OF
TUNE.
EACH KEY HAS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT SCALE, HOWEVER, AND THUS IS
SAID TO HAVE A “CHARACTERISTIC” SOUND
THERE ARE MANY WELL TEMPERAMENT SCHEMES, SOME NEARER
MEANTONE TEMPERAMENT, OTHERS NEARER EQUAL TEMPERAMENT
EXAMPLES: WERCKMEISTER I, II, III TEMPERAMENTS
FRENCH TEMPERAMENT ORDINAIRE
NEIDHARDT
KIRNBERGER
VALLOTTI,
OTHER MEANTONE TEMPERAMENTS
N – NOTE SCALES OF EQUAL TEMPERAMENT
N = 15, 19, 31, 22, AND 53 HAVE BEEN USED
BLACKWOOD: N = 15, 19
RAPOPORT: N = 31
HUYGENS ORGAN: N = 31
[Link]/~huygenif/[Link]
RATIOS AND CENTS
JUST INTONATION WORKS WELL FOR RENAISSANCE MUSIC
BUT NOT FOR BAROQUE MUSIC
BLACKWOOD: SINGERS MAKE ADJUSTMENT DURING TONE
HUGGHAUS 31 TONE IS ALMOST THE SAME AS EXTENDED
MEANTIME
ET = 1/11 COMMA MEANTONE
INTONATION
SKILLED MUSICIANS SHOW CONSIDERABLE VARIATION IN
INTONATION (FREQUENTLY LARGER THAN DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN THE VARIOUS TUNINGS
DEVIATIONS FROM EQUAL TEMPERAMENT ARE GENERALLY
IN THE DIRECTION OF PYTHAGOREAN INTERVALS
MANY PERFORMERS PREFER STRETCHED INTERVALS
CHORAL SINGERS OFTEN RAISE THE THIRD IN A MAJOR
CHORD
RATIOS AND CENTS
THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF JUST TUNING IN THE RENAISSANCE
SELECT PYTHAGOREAN AND OTHER RATIOS
BOHLEN-PIERCE SCALE
BASED ON A [Link] TETRACHORD
DIVIDES A MUSICAL TWELTH (3:1 RATIO) OR “TRITAVE” INTO 13
STEPS OR SEMITONES EACH HAVING A RATIO 31/13
HEINZ
BOHLEN JOHN PIERCE
FREQUENCY RATIOS FOR BOHLEN-PIERCE SCALE
DIAGRAM OF BP
SCALE AND THE
MAJOR AND
MINOR CHORDS
THAT CAN BE
DERIVED FROM
THIS SCALE
