53edo: Difference between revisions

53edo is notable as an excellent [[5-limit]] system, a fact apparently first noted by {{w|Isaac Newton}}<ref>[https://emusicology.org/index.php/EMR/article/view/7647/6030 Muzzulini, Daniel. 2021. "Isaac Newton's Microtonal Approach to Just Intonation". ''Empirical Musicology Review'' 15 (3–4):223–48. https://doi.org/10.18061/emr.v15i3-4.7647.]</ref>. It is the seventh [[The Riemann zeta function and tuning #Zeta EDO lists|strict zeta edo]]. In the opinion of some, 53edo is the first equal division to deal adequately with the [[13-limit]], while others award that distinction to [[41edo]] or [[46edo]]. Like 41 and 46, 53 is distinctly [[consistent]] in the [[9-odd-limit]] (and if we exclude the most damaged interval pair, 7/5 and 10/7, is [[consistent to distance]] 2), but among them, 53 is the first that finds the [[interseptimal interval]]s [[15/13]] and [[13/10]] distinctly from adjacent [[7-limit|septimal]] intervals [[8/7]] and [[7/6]], and [[9/7]] and [[21/16]], respectively, which is essential to its 13-limit credibility. It also avoids equating [[11/9]] with [[16/13]], so that the former is tuned very flat to equate it with a slightly flat [[~]][[39/32]] – a feature shared by 46edo. It is almost consistent to the entire [[15-odd-limit]], with the only inconsistency occurring at [[14/11]] (and its octave complement), which is mapped inconsistently sharp and equated with [[9/7]], but it has the benefit of doing very well in larger prime/subgroup-limited odd-limits. It can be treated as a no-11's, no-17's tuning, on which it is consistent all the way up to the [[27-odd-limit]].  

As an equal temperament, it notably [[tempering out|tempers out]] [[Mercator's comma]] (3⁵³/2⁸⁴), the [[schisma|schisma (32805/32768)]], [[15625/15552|kleisma (15625/15552)]], and [[amity comma|amity comma (1600000/1594323)]]. In the 7-limit it tempers out the [[225/224|marvel comma (225/224)]] for which it is a [[Marvel#Tunings|relatively efficient tuning]], [[1728/1715|orwellisma (1728/1715)]], [[3125/3087|gariboh comma (3125/3087)]], and [[4375/4374|ragisma (4375/4374)]]. In the 11-limit, it tempers out [[99/98]] and [[121/120]] (in addition to their difference, [[540/539]]), and is the [[optimal patent val]] for [[big brother]] temperament, which tempers out both, as well as 11-limit [[orwell]] temperament, which also tempers out the 11-limit commas [[176/175]] and [[385/384]]. In the 13-limit, it tempers out [[169/168]], [[275/273]], [[325/324]], [[625/624]], [[676/675]], [[1001/1000]], [[2080/2079]], and [[4096/4095]], and gives the optimal patent val for [[marvel family #Athene|athene]] temperament.  

53edo has also found a certain dissemination as an edo tuning for [[Arabic, Turkish, Persian|Arabic, Turkish, and Persian music]]. It can also be used as an extended [[3-limit|Pythagorean tuning]], since its fifths are almost indistinguishable from just.

53edo's step is sometimes called the "Holdrian comma", despite the 53rd root of 2 being an irrational number; the step's role as a "comma" comes from it being an approximation of the Pythagorean comma and syntonic comma.

{{Harmonics in equal|53|columns=9}}

{{Harmonics in equal|53|columns=10|start=10|collapsed=true|title=Approximation of prime harmonics in 53edo (continued)}}

See [[#Approximation to JI]] for details and a more in-depth discussion.

Many of its multiples such as [[159edo]], [[212edo]], [[742edo]], [[901edo]] and [[954edo]] have good consistency limits and are each of their own interest. The [[mercator family]] comprises rank-2 temperaments with 1/53-octave periods.

=== Ups and downs notation ===

53edo can be notated with [[ups and downs]], spoken as up, dup, dudsharp, downsharp, sharp, upsharp etc. and down, dud, dupflat etc. Note that dudsharp is equivalent to trup (triple-up) and dupflat is equivalent to trud (triple-down).

{{Sharpness-sharp5a}}

Another notation uses [[Alternative symbols for ups and downs notation#Sharp-5|alternative ups and downs]]. Here, this can be done using sharps and flats with arrows, borrowed from extended [[Helmholtz–Ellis notation]]:

{{Sharpness-sharp5}}

In the diagrams above, a sagittal symbol followed by an equals sign (=) means that the following comma is the symbol's [[Sagittal notation#Primary comma|primary comma]] (the comma it ''exactly'' represents in JI), while an approximately equals sign (≈) means it is a secondary comma (a comma it ''approximately'' represents in JI). In both cases the symbol exactly represents the tempered version of the comma in this EDO.

53edo's [[circle of fifths|circle of 53 fifths]] can be bent into a [[spiral chart|12-spoked "spiral of fifths"]]. This makes sense to do because going up by 12 fifths results in the Pythagorean comma (by definition), which is mapped to one edostep and is thus also the syntonic and septimal comma, introducing a simple second accidental in the form of the arrow to reach useful intervals from the basic 12-chromatic scale.  

Because the 5th is so accurate, 53edo also offers good approximations for Pythagorean thirds. In addition, the 43\53 interval is only 4.8 cents wider than 7/4, so 53edo can also be used for 7-limit harmony, in which it tempers out the [[septimal kleisma]], 225/224.

| Schismina

| [[Submajor]]

<nowiki/>* [[Normal lists|Octave-reduced form]], reduced to the first half-octave

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKXMuhB3uHQ ''Maple Leaf Rag''] (1899) – arranged for harpsichord and rendered by Claudi Meneghin (2024)

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-pRqKGX0oo ''Maple Leaf Rag''] (1899) – with syntonic comma adjustment, arranged for harpsichord and rendered by Claudi Meneghin (2024)

=== 21st century ===