Fractional sharp notation
The letter notation is a notation scheme developed by CompactStar for just intonation up to the 31-limit and some regular temperaments. It is Pythagorean notation with the letters H-Y used as accidentals for higher prime limits (starting from H to avoid conflict with note names). These are fairly easy to memorize as they go in alphabetical order as the prime limit increases.
Accidentals
Prime limit | Letter | Ratio | Letter | Ratio |
---|---|---|---|---|
5 | H | 81/80 | I | 80/81 |
7 | J | 64/63 | K | 63/64 |
11 | L | 33/32 | M | 32/33 |
13 | N | 1053/1024 | O | 1024/1053 |
17 | P | 4131/4096 | Q | 4096/4131 |
19 | R | 513/512 | S | 512/513 |
23 | T | 736/729 | U | 729/736 |
29 | V | 261/256 | W | 256/261 |
31 | X | 32/31 | Y | 31/32 |
For example, 5/4 is IM3 and 7/4 is Km7 (spoken names, if mechanical-sounding, can also be made out of these like "I-major third").
This system can also be used to notate regular temperaments (including both equal temperaments and rank-2 or higher). For example, 24edo could be notated by using 12edo notation together with L/M to denote the tempered 33/32 quartertone of 50 cents:
Notation |
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