Step label spectrum: Difference between revisions

From Xenharmonic Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Frostburn (talk | contribs)
Recommend standard sets of letters up to variety 9.
Fredg999 (talk | contribs)
Merged into Step pattern
Tag: New redirect
 
(18 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
Musical scales come in many varieties, but as long as they're ascending and periodic they can be broken down into a finite list of steps stacked on top on each other.
#REDIRECT [[Step pattern#Step label spectrum]]
 
Now that abstract scale display is coming to Scale Workshop we need a system for indicating the sizes of steps that is both human readable and machine executable.
 
== Positive-size step indicators ==
Below is a list of adjectives related to size ordered simulteneously in ascending ASCII order and descending size order.
* '''B'''iggest
* '''C'''olossal
* '''E'''normous
* '''G'''igantic
* '''H'''uge
* '''L'''arge
* '''M'''edium
* '''N'''ormal
* '''O'''rdinary
* '''n'''arrow
* '''m'''inute
* '''n'''egligible
* '''p'''etite
* '''s'''mall
* '''t'''iny
* '''u'''nnoticeable
* '''z'''ilch
 
The bolded first letter is intended as a shorthand for step patterns like L, m and s in LLsLLLs for Ionian or LmLsLsLmLs for Blackdye Grave Dorian.
 
The '''z'''ilch step is reserved for steps of zero size i.e. repeated notes in the scale.
 
The anonymous '''x''' step is used if there are only steps of one size.
== Standard letters ==
For each naïve variety (count of step sizes, not to be confused with variety w.r.t. all interval classes) there is a standard set of letters to use. If possible the sets come in alphabetical order and with an equal number of uppercase and lowercase letters (or one more lowercase letter if the variety is odd).
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Standard letters per variety
|-
! Naïve variety !! Letters !! Example !! Name
|-
| 1 || x || xxxxx || 5edo
|-
| 2 || L, s || LsLsLsL || Sothic
|-
| 3 || L, m, s || LmLsLLsLm || Diasem Melodic Minor
|-
| 4 || L, M, n, s || nMLsLMnMLM || Zarlino[10]
|-
| 5 || L, M, n, s, t || tLsLtLnML || Zil[9]
|-
| 6 || H, L, M, n, s, t || ||
|-
| 7 || H, L, M, n, s, t, u || ||
|-
| 8 || B, H, L, M, n, s, t, u || ||
|-
| 9 || B, H, L, M, n, p, s, t, u || ||
|}

Latest revision as of 15:53, 12 August 2024