source file: mills2.txt Date: Tue, 24 Oct 1995 10:50:32 -0700 Subject: Re: Differential notes. Baka pygmies polyphonies From: "David R. Canright" in response to Vincent Kenis: That's a very interesting idea you propose, of adaptive vocal inflection organized around pentatonic scales. You mention measuring basic steps of 7/6, 8/7, and 9/8. As it happens, Rick Tagawa, a composer who studied ethnomusicology at UCLA, used the same intervals in reconstructing African scales (I can't remember from where). However, the particular scale he used in composing with an African sound was: tones: 1/1 8/7 21/16 3/2 7/4 steps: 8/7 147/128 8/7 7/6 8/7 which has the unusual step 147/128 (239.6 cents), rather close in size to an 8/7 (231.2 cents) step, and has no 9/8. As an aside, one of my favorite pentatonics is: tones: 1/1 7/6 4/3 3/2 7/4 steps: 7/6 8/7 9/8 7/6 8/7 which uses only the steps you mention (which are superparticular). Of course, this is just one of the 30 different arrangements (6 different if you ignore cyclic permutations) of these steps, but this is one with nice harmonic structure. David C. -- David Canright (408) 656-2782 (or -2206) Math. Dept., Code MA/Ca (408) 656-2355 (FAX) Naval Postgraduate School DCanright@NPS.Navy.mil Monterey, CA 93943 USA http://math.nps.navy.mil/~dcanrig/ Received: from eartha.mills.edu [144.91.3.20] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Wed, 25 Oct 1995 12:36 +0100 Received: from by eartha.mills.edu via SMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/930416.SGI) for id DAA12727; Wed, 25 Oct 1995 03:35:41 -0700 Date: Wed, 25 Oct 1995 03:35:41 -0700 Message-Id: Errors-To: madole@ella.mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu