Physics of Music - Notes

Some "non-Western" Musical Scales (using western instruments)

The spacing between adjacent notes on the chromatic scale is referred to as a half step. The number of half steps between adjacent notes for the following scales are:

These examples are, of course, approximations to the actual scales used by performers. They are the closest one can expect using a keyboard and the equal tempered scale.

A good source for many additional scales is in the translation of Helmholtz's book.

If you are unfamiliar with a keyboard, refer to this figure:
keyboard figure

Questions/Comments to: suits@mtu.edu


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