Stalefleas

todo: add a link to kite's notation

The following ideas have been formed out as part of the first Tuning of the Year project (for year 2025), hereafter referred to as TOTY. The focus of the original TOTY was 22edo, which was voted on by the Xenharmonic Alliance discord.  

Including ups and downs notation, we have at least four distinct methods of identifying chords in 22edo. These methods are all comprehensive, meaning one can reasonably identify any chord just as well as one can identify chords in 12edo using standard chord labels. In sum, we have ups and downs notation, classic notation, double-qualifier notation, and temperament notation.

Using a "sounds-like" system of interval naming, we can identify 22edo as having the following intervals:

{| class="wikitable"

While obviously, there is some subjectivity here, and the possibility of an even more refined perspective. But this seems good enough to talk about 22edo in a way that is intuitive to what we are hearing.

In order to communicate the chords of 22edo, it is necessary to identify the names of the tertian triads. Adding sevenths to our triads gives us many practical chords that will be used by most composers and musicians. Adding our standard modifications to these, adding the sevenths, and alterations, gives us a complete system with which to name any chord. Here a triad is defined explicitly as a tertian triad, being a chord made out of two stacked thirds. Only the subminor, minor, major, and supermajor thirds (5\22, 6\22, 7\22, 8\22) are considered.

|S3 M3

|CJ+

|CSv#5

|-

|}

Notating seventh chords is fairly straightforward. One simply identifies the type of triad in their preferred system, and appends the quality of the seventh.

Disambiguation is not necessary for all chords, but defaulting to using it could lead to greater consistency in notation.

Following the convention of 12edo notation, we have qualifiers for both triads and sevenths. In 22edo these have been described above. To add additional extensions, we can also follow the example provided by standard notation. All extensions will be assumed to be mos-diatonic (super-pythagorean) unless otherwise qualified. So, seconds are supermajor by default, fourths are perfect, and sixths are supermajor.  

could be written as Cadd9 or C,9

Of course, any chord that exists in 12edo can still be expressed in 22edo. We have many non-tertian triads including suspended chords, chords with no thirds, chords with no fifths, etc. We can adopt the same conventions from standard chord notation and apply them to 22edo.  

Of course, there are instances where notating a chord might be difficult, if there are large clusters of notes, for instance. Non-standard labels might need to be referred to or invented. Or, once could simply use standard sheet music notation, which can express any number of notes with absolute clarity.