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The scales don't necessarily have the same notes. That only happens with equal temperament tuning (, which is it's great advantage). https://en.wikipedia.org/w
by geon 10y ago
The scales don't necessarily have the same notes. That only happens with equal temperament tuning (, which is it's great advantage).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_temperament https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_temperament
If you optimized the tuning for harmony, the notes would be largely similar, but some of them would not line up that well. Playing one scale with you instrument tuned for the other wouldn't work that well.
https://arxiv.org/html/1202.4212v1/#sec_3_3_0 https://arxiv.org/html/1202.4212v1/#sec_3_3_0
Read that whole article. Super interesting. It was posted on HN this summer.
- zodiac 10y agoYes, I probably should have added "in equal temperament, ...". I would say that most of music theory assumes equal temperament because it's the simplest to deal with from a theory point of view, because it allows you to modulate to other keys with no restrictions, and because deviating from equal temperament is something that is more of the performer's choice than something the composer dictates. For instance when choirs hold some consonant chords (eg at the end of a cadence sometimes), we tune the notes in just intonation (ie away from equal temperament) to get the nice "ring", and barbershop quartets sing some intervals about one-third of a semitone differently from what equal temperament would be (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_seventh_chord https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_seventh_chord), and leading tones are often sharpened quite a lot for melodic purposes; these adjustments are something that you do naturally on a continuous pitch instrument, and composers normally don't specify them.