Kite's color notation: Difference between revisions

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Color notation was mostly developed by [[Kite Giedraitis]]. This is a brief summary. For a full explanation, see [http://www.tallkite.com/AlternativeTunings.html "Alternative Tunings: Theory, Notation and Practice"]. For a great webapp that converts to/from ratios, monzos and color notation, see [https://www.yacavone.net/xen-calc/ ~~yacavone.net/xen~~-calc/] It also does [[Ups and Downs Notation|ups and downs]].

Color notation was mostly developed by [[Kite Giedraitis]]. This is a brief summary. For a full explanation, see [http://www.tallkite.com/AlternativeTunings.html "Alternative Tunings: Theory, Notation and Practice"]. For a great webapp that converts to/from ratios, monzos and color notation, see [https://www.yacavone.net/xen-calc/ Xen-calc] It also does [[Ups and Downs Notation|ups and downs]].

Color notation has many ~~advantages over~~ other ~~forms of~~ microtonal ~~notation~~:

Color notation has many features other microtonal notations lack:

* No new symbols: all new accidentals are familiar characters, hence they are immediately speed-readable.

* Furthermore, they are all on the QWERTY keyboard, making the notation easily typeable.

* ~~No unnamed accidentals. Imagine rehearsal conversation if # and b were unnamed! "C pound-sign", "C hashtag", "E little-b", etc.~~

* Every new accidental has a spoken name, making the notation speakable.

* Thus color notation is not just a written notation but also a spoken ~~one~~, ~~"colorspeak"~~

* Most importantly, one can name not only notes but also intervals. As a result, color notation can name scales, chords, chord progressions and even prime subgroups and temperaments.

* Accidentals can be combined and even exponentiatied, minimizing the ~~number of new accidentals to learn~~.

Colorspeak is designed to be an international language, a sort of microtonal Esperanto easily learned and spoken no matter what one's native language is. Almost every term in colorspeak is one syllable ending with a vowel. The five basic vowels are pronounced ah-eh-ee-oh-oo as in Spanish or Italian.

* Most ~~important of all~~, ~~there are names for~~ not only notes but also intervals.

* As a result, color notation can name scales, chords, chord progressions and even prime subgroups and temperaments.

Colorspeak is designed to be an international language, a sort of microtonal Esperanto easily learned and spoken no matter what one's native language is. Almost every term in colorspeak is one syllable ending with a vowel. The five basic vowels are pronounced ah-eh-ee-oh-oo as in Spanish or Italian. To avoid using sounds not in one's native language, it has been [[Color notation/Translations|translated]] to other languages. For example, in many European languages, "th-" for prime 13 becomes "tr-".

== Color Names for Primes 3, 5 and 7 ==

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|w8

|}

Yo and ru intervals tend to be major, and gu and zo ones tend to be minor. But interval quality is redundant (if a third is yo, it must be major), it's not unique (there are other major thirds available), and quality isn't used with color names (see [[#Color Names for Higher Primes]] below for why). Instead of augmented and diminished, remote intervals are '''large''' (fifthward) and '''small''' (fourthward), written as L and s, and abbreviated as '''la''' and '''sa'''. '''Central''', the default, means neither large nor small. The general term for large/small/central/etc. is '''magnitude'''. When discussing magnitudes in general (e.g. tempering out a large comma usually flattens the 5th), the full words large and small are used to avoid confusion with solfege's La and saregam's Sa. A ratio's magnitude is the sum of all the monzo exponents except the first one, divided by 7, and rounded off. 0 = central, 1 = large, 2 = double large, etc. 81/64 = Lw3, 135/128 = Ly1. Unfortunately, magnitudes do not add up predictably like colors and degrees do: w2 + w2 = Lw3. Only intervals have a magnitude, notes never do, and L and s never appear on the staff.

Yo and ru intervals tend to be major, and gu and zo ones tend to be minor. But interval quality is redundant (if a third is yo, it must be major), it's not unique (there are other major thirds available), and quality isn't used with color names (see [[#Color Names for Higher Primes]] below for why). Instead of augmented and diminished, remote intervals are '''large''' (fifthward) and '''small''' (fourthward), written as L and s, and abbreviated as '''la''' and '''sa'''. '''Central''', the default, means neither large nor small. The general term for large/small/central/etc. is '''magnitude'''. When discussing magnitudes in general (e.g. tempering out a large comma usually flattens the 5th), the full words large and small are used to avoid confusion with solfege's La and saregam's Sa.

A ratio's magnitude is the sum of all the monzo exponents except the first one, divided by 7, and rounded off. 0 = central, 1 = large, 2 = double large, etc. 81/64 = Lw3, 135/128 = Ly1. Unfortunately, magnitudes do not add up predictably like colors and degrees do: w2 + w2 = Lw3. Only intervals have a magnitude, notes never do, and L and s never appear on the staff.

Colors can be doubled or tripled, which are abbreviated '''bi-''' ("bee") and '''tri-''' ("tree"): 49/25= bizogu 9th = zzgg9 and 128/125 = trigu 2nd = g32. Bi- is only used if it shortens the name: 25/16 = yoyo 5th not biyo 5th. Likewise with magnitudes: double-large is lala and triple-large is trisa. For quadruple, etc., see [[#Exponents]].

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Degrees can be negative: 50/49 = biruyo negative 2nd = rryy-2. It's a negative 2nd because it goes up in pitch but down the scale: zg5 + rryy-2 = ry4. Negative is different than descending, from ry4 to zg5 is a descending negative 2nd. There are also diminished unisons, which raise the pitch but diminish the quality. For example, if 11/8 is notated as a P4, two of them are a m7 of 121/64 = 1102¢. Going from a yo M7 = 1088¢ up to this m7 raises the pitch, and 121/120 is a dim unison.

The [[256/243|5-edo comma]] is the Sawa comma, the [[2187/2048|7-edo comma]] is the Lawa comma, and the [[Pythagorean comma|pythagorean or 12-edo comma]] is the Lalawa comma. All other wa commas use an alternate format. For example, L3w-2 = (-30 19) is named as w-19, the Wa-19 comma. This avoids the hard-to-decipher name trilawa negative 2nd.

Compound, abbreviated '''co-''' or '''c''', is a conventional term that means widened by an octave. 15/4 is a compound yo 7th = coyo 7th = cy7. 5/1 is a double-compound yo 3rd = cocoyo 3rd = ccy3. 9/1 is a tricowa 2nd = c3w2. More examples in the [[Gallery of just intervals#Intervals larger than an octave|Gallery of just intervals]]. Mnemonic: co- as in co-pilot means auxiliary, thus a 9th is a co-2nd. See [[#Prime Subgroup Names]] below for another mnemonic.

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The hyphen after the magnitude is omitted if it would create a subunit of 1 syllable. Thus layo, lalagu and sagugu are all unhyphenated. However, the last rule always holds, e.g. 284/243 = 22 * 3-5 * 71 is a sa-seventy-wo 3rd.

[[Color notation/Temperament Names|Temperament names]] use an alternate format for interval names that omits the degree. The suffixes -bi and -tri are occasionally used in these names in a completely different sense.

[[Color notation/Temperament Names|Temperament/comma names]] use an alternate format for interval names that omits the degree. The suffixes -bi and -tri are occasionally used in these names in a completely different sense. The [[256/243|5-edo comma]] is the Sawa comma, the [[2187/2048|7-edo comma]] is the Lawa comma, and the [[Pythagorean comma|pythagorean or 12-edo comma]] is the Lalawa comma. All other wa commas use yet another alternate format. For example, L3w-2 = (-30 19) is named as w-19, the Wa-19 comma. This avoids the hard-to-decipher name Trilawa comma.

== Converting a Ratio to/from a Color Name ==

Often a ratio can be converted by breaking it down into simpler ratios with familiar color names, then adding. For example, 45/32 is 5/4 times 9/8, which is y3 plus w2. The colors and degrees are summed, making y4. The magnitude is not summed, and must be found either visually from the lattices above, or from the monzo directly. 45/32 = [-5 2 1>, and (2+1)/7 rounds to 0, so it's central, and 45/32 = y4.

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==Translations==

:For translations of color notation terms into other languages, see [[Color notation/Translations]].

:For translations of color notation terms into other languages, see [[Color notation/Translations]]. Translating avoids using sounds not in one's native language. For example, in many European languages, "th-" for prime 13 becomes "tr-".

[[Category:Color notation| ]]

[[Category:Just intonation]]

[[Category:Notation]]

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-Color notation was mostly developed by [[Kite Giedraitis]]. This is a brief summary. For a full explanation, see [http://www.tallkite.com/AlternativeTunings.html "Alternative Tunings: Theory, Notation and Practice"]. For a great webapp that converts to/from ratios, monzos and color notation, see [https://www.yacavone.net/xen-calc/ yacavone.net/xen-calc/] It also does [[Ups and Downs Notation|ups and downs]].
+Color notation was mostly developed by [[Kite Giedraitis]]. This is a brief summary. For a full explanation, see [http://www.tallkite.com/AlternativeTunings.html "Alternative Tunings: Theory, Notation and Practice"]. For a great webapp that converts to/from ratios, monzos and color notation, see [https://www.yacavone.net/xen-calc/ Xen-calc] It also does [[Ups and Downs Notation|ups and downs]].
-Color notation has many advantages over other forms of microtonal notation:
+Color notation has many features other microtonal notations lack:
 * No new symbols: all new accidentals are familiar characters, hence they are immediately <u>speed-readable</u>.
 * Furthermore, they are all on the QWERTY keyboard, making the notation easily <u>typeable</u>.
-* No unnamed accidentals. Imagine rehearsal conversation if # and b were unnamed! "C pound-sign", "C hashtag", "E little-b", etc.
+* Every new accidental has a spoken name, making the notation <u>speakable</u>.
-* Thus color notation is not just a written notation but also a spoken one, "colorspeak"
+* Most importantly, one can name not only notes but also <u>intervals</u>. As a result, color notation can name scales, chords, chord progressions and even prime subgroups and temperaments.
-* Accidentals can be combined and even exponentiatied, minimizing the number of new accidentals to learn.
+Colorspeak is designed to be an international language, a sort of microtonal Esperanto easily learned and spoken no matter what one's native language is. Almost every term in colorspeak is one syllable ending with a vowel. The five basic vowels are pronounced ah-eh-ee-oh-oo as in Spanish or Italian.
-* Most important of all, there are names for not only notes but also <u>intervals</u>.
-* As a result, color notation can name scales, chords, chord progressions and even prime subgroups and temperaments.
-Colorspeak is designed to be an international language, a sort of microtonal Esperanto easily learned and spoken no matter what one's native language is. Almost every term in colorspeak is one syllable ending with a vowel. The five basic vowels are pronounced ah-eh-ee-oh-oo as in Spanish or Italian. To avoid using sounds not in one's native language, it has been [[Color notation/Translations|translated]] to other languages. For example, in many European languages, "th-" for prime 13 becomes "tr-".
 == Color Names for Primes 3, 5 and 7 ==
@@ Line 215: / Line 212: @@
 |w8
 |}
-Yo and ru intervals tend to be major, and gu and zo ones tend to be minor. But interval quality is redundant (if a third is yo, it must be major), it's not unique (there are other major thirds available), and quality isn't used with color names (see [[#Color Names for Higher Primes]] below for why). Instead of augmented and diminished, remote intervals are '''large''' (fifthward) and '''small''' (fourthward), written as L and s, and abbreviated as '''la''' and '''sa'''. '''Central''', the default, means neither large nor small. The general term for large/small/central/etc. is '''magnitude'''. When discussing magnitudes in general (e.g. tempering out a large comma usually flattens the 5th), the full words large and small are used to avoid confusion with solfege's La and saregam's Sa. A ratio's magnitude is the sum of all the monzo exponents except the first one, divided by 7, and rounded off. 0 = central, 1 = large, 2 = double large, etc. 81/64 = Lw3, 135/128 = Ly1. Unfortunately, magnitudes do not add up predictably like colors and degrees do: w2 + w2 = Lw3. Only intervals have a magnitude, notes never do, and L and s never appear on the staff.
+Yo and ru intervals tend to be major, and gu and zo ones tend to be minor. But interval quality is redundant (if a third is yo, it must be major), it's not unique (there are other major thirds available), and quality isn't used with color names (see [[#Color Names for Higher Primes]] below for why). Instead of augmented and diminished, remote intervals are '''large''' (fifthward) and '''small''' (fourthward), written as L and s, and abbreviated as '''la''' and '''sa'''. '''Central''', the default, means neither large nor small. The general term for large/small/central/etc. is '''magnitude'''. When discussing magnitudes in general (e.g. tempering out a large comma usually flattens the 5th), the full words large and small are used to avoid confusion with solfege's La and saregam's Sa.
+A ratio's magnitude is the sum of all the monzo exponents except the first one, divided by 7, and rounded off. 0 = central, 1 = large, 2 = double large, etc. 81/64 = Lw3, 135/128 = Ly1. Unfortunately, magnitudes do not add up predictably like colors and degrees do: w2 + w2 = Lw3. Only intervals have a magnitude, notes never do, and L and s never appear on the staff.
 Colors can be doubled or tripled, which are abbreviated '''bi-''' ("bee") and '''tri-''' ("tree"): 49/25= bizogu 9th = zzgg9 and 128/125 = trigu 2nd = g<sup>3</sup>2. Bi- is only used if it shortens the name: 25/16 = yoyo 5th not biyo 5th. Likewise with magnitudes: double-large is lala and triple-large is trisa. For quadruple, etc., see [[#Exponents]].
@@ Line 224: / Line 223: @@
 Degrees can be negative: 50/49 = biruyo negative 2nd = rryy-2. It's a negative 2nd because it goes up in pitch but down the scale: zg5 + rryy-2 = ry4. Negative is different than descending, from ry4 to zg5 is a descending negative 2nd. There are also diminished unisons, which raise the pitch but diminish the quality. For example, if 11/8 is notated as a P4, two of them are a m7 of 121/64 = 1102¢. Going from a yo M7 = 1088¢ up to this m7 raises the pitch, and 121/120 is a dim unison.
-The [[256/243|5-edo comma]] is the Sawa comma, the [[2187/2048|7-edo comma]] is the Lawa comma, and the [[Pythagorean comma|pythagorean or 12-edo comma]] is the Lalawa comma. All other wa commas use an alternate format. For example, L<sup>3</sup>w-2 = (-30 19) is named as w-19, the Wa-19 comma. This avoids the hard-to-decipher name trilawa negative 2nd.
 Compound, abbreviated '''co-''' or '''c''', is a conventional term that means widened by an octave. 15/4 is a compound yo 7th = coyo 7th = cy7. 5/1 is a double-compound yo 3rd = cocoyo 3rd = ccy3. 9/1 is a tricowa 2nd = c<sup>3</sup>w2. More examples in the [[Gallery of just intervals#Intervals larger than an octave|Gallery of just intervals]]. Mnemonic: co- as in co-pilot means auxiliary, thus a 9th is a co-2nd. See [[#Prime Subgroup Names]] below for another mnemonic.
@@ Line 340: / Line 337: @@
 The hyphen after the magnitude is omitted if it would create a subunit of 1 syllable. Thus layo, lalagu and sagugu are all unhyphenated. However, the last rule always holds, e.g. 284/243 =  2<sup>2</sup> * 3<sup>-5</sup> * 71 is a sa-seventy-wo 3rd.
-[[Color notation/Temperament Names|Temperament names]] use an alternate format for interval names that omits the degree. The suffixes -bi and -tri are occasionally used in these names in a completely different sense.
+[[Color notation/Temperament Names|Temperament/comma names]] use an alternate format for interval names that omits the degree. The suffixes -bi and -tri are occasionally used in these names in a completely different sense. The [[256/243|5-edo comma]] is the Sawa comma, the [[2187/2048|7-edo comma]] is the Lawa comma, and the [[Pythagorean comma|pythagorean or 12-edo comma]] is the Lalawa comma. All other wa commas use yet another alternate format. For example, L<sup>3</sup>w-2 = (-30 19) is named as w-19, the Wa-19 comma. This avoids the hard-to-decipher name Trilawa comma.
 == Converting a Ratio to/from a Color Name ==
 Often a ratio can be converted by breaking it down into simpler ratios with familiar color names, then adding. For example, 45/32 is 5/4 times 9/8, which is y3 plus w2. The colors and degrees are summed, making y4. The magnitude is <u>not</u> summed, and must be found either visually from the lattices above, or from the monzo directly. 45/32 = [-5 2 1>, and (2+1)/7 rounds to 0, so it's central, and 45/32 = y4.
@@ Line 653: / Line 650: @@
 ==Translations==
-:For translations of color notation terms into other languages, see [[Color notation/Translations]].
+:For translations of color notation terms into other languages, see [[Color notation/Translations]]. Translating avoids using sounds not in one's native language. For example, in many European languages, "th-" for prime 13 becomes "tr-".
 [[Category:Color notation| ]] <!-- main article -->
 [[Category:Just intonation]]
 [[Category:Notation]]