Klarinet Archive - Posting 000617.txt from 2002/03

From: w6w@-----. Wright)
Subj: [kl] R-13 and intonation. . .good grief
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 13:42:26 -0500

Another 'logic issue' --- albeit obvious --- which I think should be
stated explicitly as part of this conversation:

A major third is 5/4. Two major thirds, which form a major triad,
would be (5/4) x (5/4) = 25/16, and this is no longer a ratio of small
integers.

If it's true that the human ear & brain respond most strongly to ratios
of small integers, then 25/16 fails the test. But if the sum were
24/16 = 3/2 (an exact fifth), it would satisfy the small integer
requirement.

We could accomplish this by changing the first third just a bit. By
doing so, we would introduce the beginning of temperament (addition)
into an otherwise multiplicative system.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
It's Sneezy.Org Pledge time. Please visit
http://www.sneezy.org/Pledge.html