source file: m1494.txt Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 17:16:31 -0400 Subject: Scales and Numerology From: "Paul H. Erlich" Those of you who have read my paper or followed my posts know that I suggest replacing the 7-out-of-12 scale, which has defined most Western music for centuries if not millenia, with a 10-out-of-22 scale. Although the considerations were purely mathematical, it became clear later that 7 and 12 are strong Christian symbols while 10 and 22 are strong Jewish ones. Being of Jewish birth, perhaps I was led to the scales by unconscious, mystical forces :). Here are some examples from Clifford Pickover's _The Loom of God_: Christianity: The seven last words of Christ on the Cross. In the book of Revelation, seven seals are opened, and there are seven trumpets blown to usher in the Day of Judgment. Seven sacraments, seven gifts of the holy spirit, seven deadly sins, seven layers of purgatory. Christ chose 12 apostles. In the Revelation to John, the heavenly Jerusalem has 12 gates. Judaism and Kabala, the Jewish mystical tradition: There are 10 commandments. The Zohar, the central text of the Kabala says the world was created in 10 words. There are 10 generations between Adam and Noah. There are 10 plagues in Egypt. On 10 Tishri, the Jewish Day of Atonement, the confession of sins is repeated 10 times. On Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, 10 biblical verses are read in groups of 10. The Tree of Life, the central Kabalistic symbol, consists of 10 sephiroth with 22 bridges between them. Morris Moshe Cotel wrote a piece for 22-tone equal temperament because God created the universe out of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. I know there's more -- can anyone think of any?