So, this is a ultra nerdy blog post. I want to make it as easy to
understand and as non-esoteric as possible. Where as this piece is more
for a music-savvy audience, I hope that maybe some of you can take
something from this. Forgive me!
Most musicians learn their instruments, the 12 notes, and play them
accordingly. If I was to tell every day musician that D# and Eb are
ACTUALLY two different notes, they immediately disagree. It comes to a
surprise that there IS a difference between a D# and Eb, a C# and a Db
and etc etc etc
Let's start basic. Sound is a wave, duh. Each note, as we know it,
corresponds to a frequency. The common "starting place," if you will,
is the frequency of 440 Hz. 440hz is an A note. This is usually where
one begins to tune a piano.
With every "note" there are multiple "overtones" that sounds
simultaneously with the fundamental note, much like in the English
language, an overtone is the suggestion that comes along with a word.
So, with A440, the overtones would be 880 hz (2x the fundamental), 1320
hz (3x), 1760 hz (4x) and etc. An octave BELOW A440 would simply be
440hz divided by two--220hz, and an octave ABOVE would be 880 hz.
OKAY, so hopefully we all understand THAT. Now, on to the real shit.
The modern way to tune a piano is a system called "equal temperament."
What this basically means is that each note has equal space between it,
like a pie cut into 12 equal slices. When we tune a piano this way, it
means that we can play it in any key our heart would desire. BUT, is
this the CORRECT way? Not according to NATURE.
So, we have our A440, with the overtones of 880, 1320, and 1760. Most
people would tune their piano in a sequence of an interval we call a
"fifth." A fifth is simply five scale notes above the starting point.
In the scale of A, it would be E (1= A 2= B 3= C# 4= D 5=E etc etc). So
generally, the next note I would tune would be an E.
E, according to equal temperament, is the frequency 329.63 Hz. The
overtones that make up an E would be 329.63 (1x), 659.26 (2x), 988.88
(3x), and 1318.51 (4x) and etc. We notice that the 3rd overtone of A
(1320) is VERY close to the 4th overtone of E (1318.51). This is the
reason that A and E sound so HARMONIOUS, so GOOD together. But wouldn't
it sound better if we tuned them BOTH to 1320? YES! The waves would
line up more accurately and, in effect, sound even MORE harmonious. We
would have to then tune the E to 330hz instead of 329.63 hz.
Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, everyone did NOT play the some 12 notes as we
know them today. They utilized both a MINOR semitone (a semitone is a
half step, the difference between A and Bb or E and F) and a MAJOR
semitone. A major semitone is obviously larger than a minor semitone. C
to C# is a minor semitone (according to Bach's tuning) and C# to D is a
major semitone. On the contrary, D to Db is a minor semitone DOWN,
making Db actually slightly HIGHER pitched than C#, two note commonly
believed to be the same.
SO, why does this all matter? Well, when Bach wrote a C# instead of a
Db, he actually wanted you to play the REAL fucking C#. It MAKES a
difference. This is what separates a GREAT orchestra from a GOOD
orchestra. The notes IN BETWEEN. Because stringed instruments (not
fretted, but stringed) can play these notes in between, they can more
effectively play these lost notes.
THIS is the LOST LANGUAGE of music! Bach would temper his piano into
these more harmonically correct temperaments. This is why certain happy
or upbeat pieces were commonly written in one key, where as sad songs
were commonly written in another. To an equal tempered piano, it
wouldn't make any difference, but to a tempered piano, the key of E
might have been WAY more dissonant than say they key of Bb.
When I learnt this stuff, it actually ANGERED me! Not only are things
like "auto-tone" atrocious sounding, but they are actually ACTUALLY
harmonically INCORRECT. It is actually UNNATURAL to tune your voice! It
doesn't take a genius to understand that tuning your vocal is
unnatural, but it actually disagrees with the physical laws of harmony
and sound.
In conclusion, the things we are taught aren't always correct. Some of
you might not be upset that you were taught a slightly altered
definition of "harmony," but I am. What else have we been taught that
might not be all so true?
WALL OF TEXT,
-a.
P.S.
this is all unedited, sorry if there are any mistakes
P.S.S.
this is not just ejaculation of knowledge, but really something I care about.
P.S.S.S.
If you liked this, buy this book:
http://www.amazon.com/How-..Equal-Temperament-Ruined-H..armony/dp/0393334201/ref=s..r_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=..1239684877&sr=8-1