Re: [Harp-L] Re: Enharmonics

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

The 3rd and 7th you refer to below are not out of tune. They are in tune with the simple ratios you get when you divide the length of the string to get the harmonica (or overtone) series.

All the harmonic intervals in just intonation reinforce the root note of the chord because they  

1) Don't produce the unpleasant beating that equal-tempered intervals produce

2) they generate additional notes above and below (difference tones, where you subtract one frequency from another, and combination tones, where you add one frequency to another) that are also in tune and make the chord sound even bigger. The difference tones generated by equal tempered intervals sound out of tune.

As to blues sounding out of tune, I have to ask - with what? Blues has its own "in tune" intervals that characteristically sound like blues but don't match the equal tempered scale. Using one system as the standard to make what sounds like a value judgment of another system seems inappropriate.

Winslow

--- On Thu, 9/4/08, IcemanLE@xxxxxxx <IcemanLE@xxxxxxx> wrote:
From: IcemanLE@xxxxxxx <IcemanLE@xxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re: Enharmonics
To: runningharp@xxxxxxxxx
Cc: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thursday, September 4, 2008, 7:26 AM

The fact that the 3rd or 7th scale  degrees are a 
bit flat sounding works well with the blues, as true pitch is not  as 
imperative as in other forms of music. Actually, to be a bit our of tune is 
part of 
the blues heritage.