I recently got the book "Hearing and Writing Music.'  Must have seen it referenced somewhere here...don't remember.  I'm only up to chapter 3, but they're talking about how the scale was 'invented.'  You know, I've been wondering about that (and how they first figured out how to write music on staves) for awhile...and find it fascinating, although a little tough to get around this simple brain of mine. 

But I feel like a music nerd, spending part of my Saturday afternoon reading this.  :)  

(but I also figured some of you could possibly relate.)  :) 

Don't worry about that! A lady called me a Guitar Nerd a few weeks ago. I was reading stuff like Jazz: From it's origins to the present and Life of Jimi Hendrix. 

Oh, I'm not worried.  I'm sure many people consider me weird anyway.  :)  Sounds like a good read!  :) 

It's interesting stuff for sure Janet.

From what I can remember, the 'western' scale owes a lot to the mathematics and physics of vibration and sound waves. Stuff we take for granted - like fretting a guitar string at the half way point (12th fret) to raise the pitch by an octace - is deeply rooted in this pretty basic science.

I've never delved into how other cultures have devised their scales and relative intervals, that would be facinating to understand. But I would have thought that the basic string length doubling/halving changing the pitch by an octave must be pretty universal.

Mind you, having said that, the so-called 'blues note' doesn't, strictly speaking, fall on an exact note in the scale.

Didn't I read somewhere that instruments with fixed pitch, like piano and trumpet, often play a trill around the blues note to create the illusion that it's pitch is being played? Whereas instruments that can be played at any pitch, such as guitar (by bending a string slightly sharp) and trombone can actually 'hit' that note perfectly.

I am just a general nerd... I am reading Plutarch's Lives. If I get too bored I read a Louis Lamour book (I am also reading through the 18 Sacketts books).. then go at Plutarch again. Some days I read both... and I do not own an MP3 player.

J

I had never even heard of the difference between equal temperament vs. natural harmonics, and the fact that string and wind instrument players can bend the note to the more pleasing natural harmonics, where obviously a keyboard player can't.  (probably one reason I've never noticed or heard of it.)  

This is so interesting to me:  For over 2000 YEARS!!!, musicians, philosophers and mathematicians tried to derive a 12-tone scale that would provide the natural intervals of the harmonic series.  Unreal!  (I thought it just happened!)  :)  

He says there are Indian scales of 22 & 53 tones per octave!  The Arabs have a 3/4 interval.  But no mention as to how they were derived.

All this to learn intervals better and be able to compose faster...even w/o an instrument, something I'm sadly deficient at.  

Just saw your post, Julien.  Yeah, I usually try to have more than one book going at once, so I can have a choice.  Unless it's extremely fascinating and I can't put it down.

I don't own an mp3 player or iPod or anything similar either.  For some reason, although I can't hardly stand not to have music playing in the house and car, I rarely think about it when working outside.  I'm still waiting for them to evolve into something simpler and cheaper.  Or see more of a need for one.  

Just saw your second post, Steve. (you guys are too quick!)  Yeah, he definitely mentioned the guitar thing.  I wonder if I could even heard the difference in pitch on a guitar and piano?  Most likely not, since a piano has to be really out of tune for me to hear it.  But I'll check when I get a chance.  

jbow


I am just a general nerd... I am reading Plutarch's Lives. If I get too bored I read a Louis Lamour book (I am also reading through the 18 Sacketts books).. then go at Plutarch again. Some days I read both... and I do not own an MP3 player.

J

 
He he, that struck a chord (no pun intended) with me Julien.
 
Generally speaking, I usually have (at least) three or four books on the go at once
 
I just checked my bedside table and I have six bookmarked tomes in various stages of completion.
 
If anyone's interested, I'm currently ploughing through:

• The Clash, The Music That Matters; A Complete Guide To Their Music - Tony Fletcher
• Attack Of The Theocrats! How The Religious Right Harms Us All - And What We Can Do About It - Sean Fairclough
• Einstein's Dreams - Alan Lightman
• '77 Sulphate Strip; An Eye Witness Account Of The Year That Changed Everything... - Barry Cain
• Free Will - Sam Harris
• The History Of The NME - Pat Long

PS, sorry for the hijack Janet