Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!ubc-cs!fs1!fs1.ee.ubc.ca!jthornto
From: jthornto@fs1.ee.ubc.ca (THORNTON JOHAN A)
Newsgroups: comp.music
Subject: Re: theory behind the scales
Message-ID: <1312@fs1.ee.ubc.ca>
Date: 10 Jul 90 18:29:53 GMT
References: <8547@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu> <1307@fs1.ee.ubc.ca> <26045@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU>
Sender: root@fs1.ee.ubc.ca
Reply-To: jthornto@fs1.ee.ubc.ca (THORNTON JOHAN A)
Organization: Dept. of Electrical Engineering University of B.C.
Lines: 14

Sure, people were using scales long before they figured out what harmony
means.  The reason they used them was that it sounded good.  A major chord,
say C-E-G has frequency ratio 4:5:6.  The three superimposed sounds "beat"
in a very short interval.  Inharmonic tones have a longer (and unrelated)
beat interval, so it sounds unpleasant.


 -------  _/__/   -----------------------------------------------------
        _|  ___|    E l e c t r i c a l      |  Johan Thornton, Esq.
       | | |_/     E n g i n E E r i n g     |-------------------------
       |/|  __|     U n i v e r s i t y      |  jthornto@fs1.ee.ubc.ca
       |-| |/__     o f   B r i t i s h      |-------------------------
       | |_____|      C o l u m b i a        |   This space for rent
 ----  |__|/_|   ------------------------------------------------------