source file: mills2.txt
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 19:15:34 +0200

Subject: RE: tuning thirds in triads

From: DFinnamore@aol.com

(re-sent due to dissappearance of issue #1065)

Paul E. said
>So it is possible that the best thirds for the major triad are different 
>that the best thirds for the minor triad. It destroys a lot of the 
>mathematical beauty of 5-limit theory by bringing in the 19th harmonic, but 
>I have to let my ears be the final arbiter, and in this case they tell be 
>that the 19th harmonic is important.

You go, boy!  Math can be mighty purty, but when the goal is music, ears
rule.  Actually, I guess, ears should be second in command to hearts.

I'm admittedly relatively new to the subject of tunings, and have only a
little experience with each of the various tuning options.  What I have found
so far is that scales including intervals with some of those higher prime
numbers provide a more exciting sound than those that are purely within the
5-limit.  I especially like intervals based on the 17th and 19th harmonic
overtones in "minor" keys or modes (is there a better term for "minor" in a
JI context?).

It can be harder, of course, to get a variety of good-sounding triads with a
handful of fixed pitches that way but melodies tend to be more muscular, I
think.  As technology frees us increasingly from the limits of 12 pitches or
so, we'll see whether our ears like having all those different pitches thrown
at us in a short span of time.  My guess is, we'll learn to like it.

David J. Finnamore
Just tune it!

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