Overtone scale: Difference between revisions
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== Primodality== | == Primodality== | ||
[[Zhea Erose]] has considered over-p scales and chords where p is a prime, which she calls '''primodal scales'''. ''Primodality''' is an approach to JI designed to emphasize the identity of the "tonic" as the pth harmonic. Name- and notation-wise, scales and structures having the identity of the prime p as the tonic are collectively called a '''prime family''', and can be denoted simply by ''/p''. Zhea also uses various adjectives for specific primodalities, such as ''septimal, undecimal, tridecimal, septendecimal, novem(decimal)'' for /7, /11, /13, /17, /19, which are not to be confused with the use of these adjectives to denote prime limits. | [[Zhea Erose]] has considered over-p scales and chords where p is a prime, which she calls '''primodal scales'''. '''Primodality''' is an approach to JI designed to emphasize the identity of the "tonic" as the pth harmonic. Name- and notation-wise, scales and structures having the identity of the prime p as the tonic are collectively called a '''prime family''', and can be denoted simply by ''/p''. Zhea also uses various adjectives for specific primodalities, such as ''septimal, undecimal, tridecimal, septendecimal, novem(decimal)'' for /7, /11, /13, /17, /19, which are not to be confused with the use of these adjectives to denote prime limits. | ||
Most importantly, primodality sees any overtone as valuable on its own, rather than relative to some fundamental. Taking a specific overtone as a tonic we can get its particular scales and colors and even versions of "non-xenharmonic" scales, even when the corresponding fundamental is too low to be audible. In particular, primodality discards the concept of [[harmonic limit]], which Zhea considers an artificial way to look at JI harmony. Zhea argues that prime family (set of intervals over a small multiple of p) is a more natural way to categorize intervals; intervals from the same prime family (intervals with a common denominator for example, all /2, all /11 or all /13) tend to blend better together. For example, it is preferable to add 21/16 to 4:5:6:7, rather than 4/3. | Most importantly, primodality sees any overtone as valuable on its own, rather than relative to some fundamental. Taking a specific overtone as a tonic we can get its particular scales and colors and even versions of "non-xenharmonic" scales, even when the corresponding fundamental is too low to be audible. In particular, primodality discards the concept of [[harmonic limit]], which Zhea considers an artificial way to look at JI harmony. Zhea argues that prime family (set of intervals over a small multiple of p) is a more natural way to categorize intervals; intervals from the same prime family (intervals with a common denominator for example, all /2, all /11 or all /13) tend to blend better together. For example, it is preferable to add 21/16 to 4:5:6:7, rather than 4/3. |