source file: m1430.txt
Date: Thu, 28 May 1998 10:55:26 -0400 (EDT)

Subject: Re:  A Just pentatonic Scale

From: "Ewan A. Macpherson" <emacpher@umich.edu>

"Just Intonation" <justintonation@hotmail.com> wrote:

>                        Absolute   Successive
>    Pitch   Frequency   Ratio      Ratio
>    C4      400          1/1
>                                   6/5
>    D#4     480          6/5
>                                   9/8
>    F4      540         27/20
>                                  10/9
>    G4      600          3/2
>                                   6/5
>    A#4     720          9/5
>                                  10/9
>    C5      800          2/1

>    I was curious whether this scale corresponded to one in any other
> culture or historical period, that anybody knew of. Thanks.
>    Bill Flavell

This 4th (27/20) and minor 7th (9/5) are the ones claimed by Seamus 
MacNeill (J.M.A. Lenihan and S. MacNeill (1954): "An Acoustical Study of the
Highland Bagpipe", Acustica, vol.4, 231-232. ) to be THE tuning of 
these pitches for the Scottish Highland bagpipe chanter.  They would 
be sounding against drones at 1/2 and 1/4.  Howver, I've done some 
frequency measurements of recent recorded performances and found that 
the tuning of these notes varies quite a lot from player to player.  
The pipe chanter uses a 5/4 major 3rd.
--
Ewan Macpherson               <emacpher@umich.edu>
               WWW Bagpipe Index
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~emacpher/pipes.html