Overtone scale: Difference between revisions
Cmloegcmluin (talk | contribs) I see that primodality originally began as a subtopic of the page about modes of the harmonic series. I think it was a good idea to extract it, but it is worth including a brief explanation of its distinct concept here and including a link to it here, so people interested in modes of the harmonic series can still discover it this way. |
Cmloegcmluin (talk | contribs) correct usages of "overtone" to "harmonic" |
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== Introduction - Modes of the Harmonic Series == | == Introduction - Modes of the Harmonic Series == | ||
One way of using the [[ | One way of using the [[harmonic series]] to generate scalar material is to take an octave-long subset of the series and make it repeat at the octave. So for instance, starting at the fifth harmonic and continuing up the sequence to the tenth harmonic (which is a doubling of five, and thus an octave higher) produces a pentatonic scale: | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | harmonic | ||
| 5 | | 5 | ||
| 6 | | 6 | ||
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{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | harmonic | ||
| 10 | | 10 | ||
| 11 | | 11 | ||
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; Mode 8: 8:9:10:11:12:13:14:15:16 -- an eight-tone scale, or a [[13-limit]] octad. This is a very effective scale, with complexity ranging from the simple 4:5:6 major triad above (or even a 2:3:4 open fifth chord) to chords involving 13 and 11 such as the wild 9:11:13:15 tetrad. [[Dante Rosati]] calls it the "Diatonic Harmonic Series Scale" and has refretted a guitar to play it. See: [[First Five Octaves of the Harmonic Series]] and [[otones8-16]]. | ; Mode 8: 8:9:10:11:12:13:14:15:16 -- an eight-tone scale, or a [[13-limit]] octad. This is a very effective scale, with complexity ranging from the simple 4:5:6 major triad above (or even a 2:3:4 open fifth chord) to chords involving 13 and 11 such as the wild 9:11:13:15 tetrad. [[Dante Rosati]] calls it the "Diatonic Harmonic Series Scale" and has refretted a guitar to play it. See: [[First Five Octaves of the Harmonic Series]] and [[otones8-16]]. | ||
; Mode 16: 16:17:18:19:20:21:22:23:24:25:26:27:28:29:30:31:32 -- Dante calls this the "Chromatic Harmonic Series Scale." It includes a [[19-limit]] minor chord, 16:19:24, in addition the the classic major. Incorporating | ; Mode 16: 16:17:18:19:20:21:22:23:24:25:26:27:28:29:30:31:32 -- Dante calls this the "Chromatic Harmonic Series Scale." It includes a [[19-limit]] minor chord, 16:19:24, in addition the the classic major. Incorporating harmonics through the 31st, a great variety in complexity is possible. As 16 is a lot of tones to use at once, this is a good scale for making modal subsets of. Andrew Heathwaite recommends his heptatonic "remem" scale -- 16:17:18:21:24:26:28:32 -- or his extended nonatonic "remem" scale which adds 19 and 23 -- 16:17:18:19:21:23:24:26:28:32. | ||
Over-1 scales have a very strong attraction to their tonic, which is the fundamental of the series. Other Over-n scales may have more complex relationships to their tonics, which are not fundamentals. Indeed, when taking subsets, the fundamental may not even be present. | Over-1 scales have a very strong attraction to their tonic, which is the fundamental of the series. Other Over-n scales may have more complex relationships to their tonics, which are not fundamentals. Indeed, when taking subsets, the fundamental may not even be present. | ||
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== A Solfege System == | == A Solfege System == | ||
[[Andrew Heathwaite]] proposes a solfege system for | [[Andrew Heathwaite]] proposes a solfege system for harmonics 16-32 (Mode 16): | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | harmonic | ||
| 16 | | 16 | ||
| 17 | | 17 | ||
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Here are some next steps: | Here are some next steps: | ||
* Go beyond the 24th | * Go beyond the 24th harmonic (eg. harmonics 16-32 or higher). | ||
* Experiment with using different pitches as the "tonic" of the scale (eg. '''sol lu ta do re mi fu sol''', which could be taken as the 7-note scale starting on '''sol'''). | * Experiment with using different pitches as the "tonic" of the scale (eg. '''sol lu ta do re mi fu sol''', which could be taken as the 7-note scale starting on '''sol'''). | ||
* Take subsets of larger scales, which are not strict adjacent overtone scales (eg. '''do re fe sol ta do'''). | * Take subsets of larger scales, which are not strict adjacent overtone scales (eg. '''do re fe sol ta do'''). | ||