source file: mills3.txt Date: Thu, 21 Aug 1997 20:41:28 +0200 Subject: Re: Semitones etc. From: Mark Nowitzky Hi Andrew, et al, At 04:10 PM 8/20/97 -0700, you wrote (Digest 1159, Topic No. 1): >Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 20:56:51 -0400 >From: "Andrew L. Kaye" >Subject: Re: Semitones etc. > >Re: the debate over nomenclature and the proper definition of terms such >as semitone vs. half step vs. m2, etc.... >... What we need to do is join in an organized >endeavor to identify and name all the possible intervals that are >actually used by human beings... Ever since I got into just intonation, I've hated the term "half step", and I kind of hate "semitone" as well, since it means the same thing. I started calling it "leading tone", but that doesn't sound like the name of an interval. There's a good table in the Second English Edition of Hermann Helmholtz's "On the Sensations of Tone". It was added to the book by the translator, Alexander J. Ellis. It's called "Table of Intervals not exceeding one Octave" (p. 453). As an example, here's the names it gives for various "semitones": cents ratio name ----- ------- ---- 70 25/24 Small Semitone 92 135/128 Larger Limma 100 - Equal Semitone 112 16/15 Diatonic Semitone, or Just Semitone 134 27/25 Great Limma I think the name "Larger Limma" is unfortunate, because it is smaller than the "Great Limma". Maybe it's best to just call 135/128 this: "135/128". --Mark +------------------------------------------------------+ | Mark Nowitzky | | email: nowitzky@pacificnet.net | | www: http://www.pacificnet.net/~nowitzky | | "If you haven't visited Mark Nowitzky's home | | page recently, you haven't missed much..." | +------------------------------------------------------+ SMTPOriginator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu From: A440A@aol.com Subject: Listening to Temperament PostedDate: 21-08-97 20:45:50 SendTo: CN=coul1358/OU=AT/O=EZH ReplyTo: tuning@eartha.mills.edu $UpdatedBy: CN=notesrv2/OU=Server/O=EZH,CN=coul1358/OU=AT/O=EZH,CN=Manuel op de Coul/OU=AT/O=EZH RouteServers: CN=notesrv2/OU=Server/O=EZH,CN=notesrv1/OU=Server/O=EZH RouteTimes: 21-08-97 20:45:53-21-08-97 20:45:53,21-08-97 20:43:47-21-08-97 20:43:47 DeliveredDate: 21-08-97 20:43:47 Categories: $Revisions: Received: from ns.ezh.nl by notesrv2.ezh.nl (Lotus SMTP MTA v1.1 (385.6 5-6-1997)) with SMTP id C12564FA.00671197; Thu, 21 Aug 1997 20:45:47 +0200 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA18513; Thu, 21 Aug 1997 20:45:50 +0200 Date: Thu, 21 Aug 1997 20:45:50 +0200 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA18503 Received: (qmail 26351 invoked from network); 21 Aug 1997 18:33:58 -0000 Received: from localhost (HELO ella.mills.edu) (127.0.0.1) by localhost with SMTP; 21 Aug 1997 18:33:58 -0000 Message-Id: <970821105440_-201126160@emout12.mail.aol.com> Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu