50edo: Difference between revisions

As an equal temperament, 50et [[tempering out|tempers out]] [[81/80]] in the [[5-limit]], making it a [[meantone]] system, and in that capacity has historically drawn some notice; it is a somewhat sharp approximation of [[2/7-comma meantone]] (and is almost exactly 5/18-comma meantone). In [http://lit.gfax.ch/Harmonics%202nd%20Edition%20%28Robert%20Smith%29.pdf "Harmonics or the Philosophy of Musical Sounds"] (1759) by Robert Smith, a musical temperament is described where the octave is divided into 50 equal parts – 50edo, in one word. Later, {{w|W. S. B. Woolhouse}} noted it was fairly close to the [[Target_tunings|least squares]] tuning for 5-limit meantone. 50edo, however, is especially interesting from a higher-limit point of view. While [[31edo]] extends meantone with a [[7/4]] which is nearly pure, 50 has a flat 7/4 but both [[11/8]] and [[13/8]] are nearly pure. It is also the highest edo where the mapping of [[9/8]] and [[10/9]] to the same interval is [[consistent]], with two stacked fifths falling almost exactly 3/7-syntonic-comma sharp of 10/9 and 4/7-comma flat of 9/8. It also maps all [[19-odd-limit]] intervals consistently, except for [[11/9]] and [[18/11]].

See [[Lumatone mapping for 50edo]]

 

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrsZ-bzf1mE ''Fugue on the French Lullaby «La Petite Poule Grise»''] (2026)