Re:Music theory for nerds (2016)
by PaulDavisThe1st on Thursday February 17, 2022 @09:52AM
(#30373626)
It seems to me that you are confusing two claims.
1. a claim about the history of how common western pitches were selected over time.
2. a claim about acoustics and physics shaping the overall process of how humans (and some other animals) select pitches.
I am not suggesting for one second that the actual history of the 12T scale has been explicitly rooted in an understanding of the actual physical harmonic series.
I am suggesting that many of the choices made throughout time, both in western europe and other cultures, and also by some other species that sing (e.g. some birds) have been shaped by the physics of the harmonic series.
1. a claim about the history of how common western pitches were selected over time.
2. a claim about acoustics and physics shaping the overall process of how humans (and some other animals) select pitches.
I am not suggesting for one second that the actual history of the 12T scale has been explicitly rooted in an understanding of the actual physical harmonic series.
I am suggesting that many of the choices made throughout time, both in western europe and other cultures, and also by some other species that sing (e.g. some birds) have been shaped by the physics of the harmonic series.