Graham complexity

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Revision as of 18:49, 24 January 2012 by Wikispaces>genewardsmith (**Imported revision 295024044 - Original comment: **)
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This revision was by author genewardsmith and made on 2012-01-24 18:49:46 UTC.
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Original Wikitext content:

The //Graham complexity// of a set of pitch classes in a rank two temperament is the number of periods per octave times the difference between the maximum and minimum number of generators required to reach each pitch class. For example, consider a major triad in diaschismic temperament, with mapping [<2 0 11|, <0 1 -2|] corresponding to a generator of a '3'. That makes a 5/4 represented by [7 -2] and 3/2 by [-2 1], and 1 of course by [0 0]; so that the difference between the maximum and minimum number of generators is 1 - (-2) = 3, and so the Graham complexity of a major triad is 2*3 = 6.

Given a MOS (or any generated scale) with N notes in a temperament where a given chord has a Graham complexity of C results in N-C chords in the MOS. For instance, the Graham complexity for both a major or a minor triad in meantone is 4, and hence there are 7-4 = 3 major triads in the diatonic scale, which is Meantone[7], and 3 minor triads. 

The Graham complexity of the q-limit [[chord of nature]] is a complexity measure of the temperament itself, which is also sometimes called the Graham complexity.

Original HTML content:

<html><head><title>Graham complexity</title></head><body>The <em>Graham complexity</em> of a set of pitch classes in a rank two temperament is the number of periods per octave times the difference between the maximum and minimum number of generators required to reach each pitch class. For example, consider a major triad in diaschismic temperament, with mapping [&lt;2 0 11|, &lt;0 1 -2|] corresponding to a generator of a '3'. That makes a 5/4 represented by [7 -2] and 3/2 by [-2 1], and 1 of course by [0 0]; so that the difference between the maximum and minimum number of generators is 1 - (-2) = 3, and so the Graham complexity of a major triad is 2*3 = 6.<br />
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Given a MOS (or any generated scale) with N notes in a temperament where a given chord has a Graham complexity of C results in N-C chords in the MOS. For instance, the Graham complexity for both a major or a minor triad in meantone is 4, and hence there are 7-4 = 3 major triads in the diatonic scale, which is Meantone[7], and 3 minor triads. <br />
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The Graham complexity of the q-limit <a class="wiki_link" href="/chord%20of%20nature">chord of nature</a> is a complexity measure of the temperament itself, which is also sometimes called the Graham complexity.</body></html>