4 ms·
A perfect fifth is just 150% (3/2) the frequency of the root, just as an octave is 200% (2/1). "What sounds good" is in a certain sense based on the harmonic se
by dwringer 4y ago
A perfect fifth is just 150% (3/2) the frequency of the root, just as an octave is 200% (2/1). "What sounds good" is in a certain sense based on the harmonic series, and in that sense it is equivalent to what makes sense mathematically.
A problem is that if you stack perfect fifths to get 12 notes then they won't sound in tune with each other across different keys. It's this issue which forms the crux of the linked post.
- posterboy 4y agoI think it's integral to the theorie seeing the fifth as 3 times, the octave as 4 times and the prime as 2 times an arbitrarily low root key. Trivially, the 2^n multiples form octave intervals but between C12 and C24 there's your twelve tones on a logarithmic scale. Naturally, it doesn't transpose in integer intervals if stepping down.