5 ms·
I can help with a couple of these. 12 notes is a kludge, because powers of 2^(1/12) well approximate simple ratios. These simple ratios (such as 3:2) sound good
by voting749227383 5y ago
I can help with a couple of these. 12 notes is a kludge, because powers of 2^(1/12) well approximate simple ratios. These simple ratios (such as 3:2) sound good. I like this video for explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hqm0dYKUx4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hqm0dYKUx4
Also, the reason that the letters are in the wrong order is that we're playing the wrong scale. The monks who invented the scale usually sang in A-minor (so we use the first letter for that scale). Nowadays, we use the major scale, which has the same spacing between notes, but in a different order. It just so happens that C-major has the same notes as A-minor, so that's why we count from C. A great channel for this is Michael New, he explains everything very clearly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcviIQg_BlU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcviIQg_BlU
Music, much like language, has a lot of technical debt.
- exporectomy 5y agoThanks. Those are very enlightening. The fraction names are really nothing like what you'd expect them to mean! Now I realize why when someone was trying to explain a circle of fifths to me and how it was like a clock, it wasn't a 5-numbered clock!
- madcaptenor 5y agoThe other thing to keep in mind is that in musical intervals, X and Y add up to X + Y - 1. For example, two thirds (say, C-E and E-G) make a fifth (C-G). That's because both endpoints get counted in the interval.