Stredici
Illustration — Chord from just Bohlen–Pierce scale: C-G-A, tuned to harmonics 3, 5, and 7. "BP" above the clefs indicates Bohlen–Pierce notation. • Illustration — Same chord in Ben Johnston's notation for just intonation The Bohlen–Pierce scale (BP scale) is a musical tuning and scale, first described in the 1970s, that offers an alternative to the octave-repeating scales typical in Western and other musics, specifically the equal-tempered diatonic scale. The interval 3:1 (often called by a new name, tritave) serves as the fundamental harmonic ratio, replacing the diatonic scale's 2:1 (the octave) with a perfect twelfth (an octave higher than a perfect fifth).
Stredici
- Field
- chordophone
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Illustration — Chord from just Bohlen–Pierce scale: C-G-A, tuned to harmonics 3, 5, and 7. "BP" above the clefs indicates Bohlen–Pierce notation. • Illustration — Same chord in Ben Johnston's notation for just intonation The Bohlen–Pierce scale (BP scale) is a musical tuning and scale, first described in the 1970s, that offers an alternative to the octave-repeating scales typical in Western and other musics, specifically the equal-tempered diatonic scale. The interval 3:1 (often called by a new name, tritave) serves as the fundamental harmonic ratio, replacing the diatonic scale's 2:1 (the octave) with a perfect twelfth (an octave higher than a perfect fifth).
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Stredici. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q7622758 · wikipedia · Stredici
In this article
Chords and modulation
Chords and modulation
For any pitch that is part of the BP scale, all pitches one or more tritaves higher or lower are part of the system as well, and are considered equivalent. The BP scale divides the tritave into 13 steps, either equal tempered (the most popular form), or in a justly tuned version. Compared with octave-repeating scales, the BP scale's intervals are more consonant with certain types of acoustic spectra. The scale was independently described by Heinz Bohlen, Kees van Prooijen and John R. Pierce, who, with Max Mathews and others, published his discovery in 1984, renamed the Pierce 3579b scale and its chromatic variant the Bohlen–Pierce scale after learning of Bohlen's earlier publication. Bohlen had proposed the same scale based on consideration of the influence of combination tones on the Gestalt impression of intervals and chords. The intervals between BP scale pitch classes are based on odd integer frequency ratios, in contrast with the intervals in diatonic scales, which employ both odd and even ratios found in the harmonic series. Specifically, the BP scale steps are based on ratios of integers whose factors are 3, 5, and 7. Thus the scale contains consonant harmonies based on the odd harmonic overtones 3:5:7:9. The chord formed by the ratio 3:5:7 serves much the same role as the 4:5:6 chord (a major triad) does in diatonic scales (3:5:7 = 1: and 4:5:6 = 2:3 = 1).
3:5:7 s intonation sensitivity pattern is similar to 4:5:6 s (the just major chord), more similar than that of the minor chord. This similarity suggests that our ears will also perceive 3:5:7 as consonant. The 3:5:7 chord may thus be considered the major triad of the BP scale. It is approximated by an interval of 6 equal-tempered BP semitones on bottom and an interval of 4 equal-tempered semitones on top (semitones 0, 6, 10; play). A minor triad is correspondingly 6 semitones on top and 4 semitones on bottom (0, 4, 10). 5:7:9 is the first inversion of the major triad (0, 4, 7; play). A study of chromatic triads formed from arbitrary combinations of the 13 tones of the chromatic scale among twelve musicians and twelve untrained listeners found semitones 0, 1, 2 to be the most dissonant chord (play), but 0, 11, 13 (play) was considered the most consonant by the trained subjects (because it sounds like an octave-dropped major triad) and 0, 7, 10 (play) was judged most consonant by the untrained subjects. Every tone of the Pierce 3579b scale is in a major and minor triad except for tone II of the scale. There are thirteen possible keys. Modulation is possible through changing a single note. Moving note II up one semitone causes the tonic to rise to what was note III (semitone 3), which therefore may be considered the dominant. One may consider VIII (semitone 10) the analogue of the subdominant.
Timbre and the tritave
Timbre and the tritave
• Illustration — Bohlen-Pierce clarinet family: soprano, contra(bass) and tenor 3:1 serves as the fundamental harmonic ratio, replacing the diatonic scale's 2:1 (the octave). This interval is a perfect twelfth in diatonic nomenclature (perfect fifth when reduced by an octave), but as this terminology is based on step sizes and functions not used in the BP scale, it is often called by a new name, tritave, in BP contexts, referring to its role as a pseudooctave, and using the prefix "tri-" (three) to distinguish it from the octave. In conventional scales, if a given pitch is part of the system, then all pitches one or more octaves higher or lower also are part of the system and, furthermore, are considered equivalent. In the BP scale, if a given pitch is present, then none of the pitches one or more octaves higher or lower are present, but all pitches one or more tritaves higher or lower are part of the system and are considered equivalent. The BP scale's use of odd integer ratios is appropriate for timbres containing only odd harmonics. Because the clarinet's spectrum (in the chalumeau register) consists of primarily the odd harmonics, and the instrument overblows at the twelfth (or tritave) rather than the octave as most other woodwind instruments do, there is a natural affinity between it and the Bohlen–Pierce scale. At the suggestion of composer Georg Hajdu, clarinet maker Stephen Fox developed the first Bohlen–Pierce soprano clarinets and began offering them for sale in early 2006. He produced the first BP tenor clarinet (six steps below the soprano) in 2010 and the first epsilon clarinet (four steps above the soprano) in 2011. A contra clarinet (one tritave lower than the soprano) is now (2020) played by Nora Müller, Lübeck, Germany.
Just tuning
Just tuning
A diatonic Bohlen–Pierce scale may be constructed with the following just ratios (chart shows the "Lambda" (λ) scale): • Note — Name — C — D — E — F — G — H — J — A — B — C • Degree — scale — scale — scale — scale — scale — scale — scale — scale — scale — scale • Ratio — 1:1 — 25:21 — 9:7 — 7:5 — 5:3 — 9:5 — 15:7 — 7:3 — 25:9 — 3:1 • Cents — 0 — 301.85 — 435.08 — 582.51 — 884.36 — 1017.60 — 1319.44 — 1466.87 — 1768.72 — 1901.96 • Midi — BP Just C.ogg — BP Just D.ogg — BP Just E.ogg — BP Just F.ogg — BP Just G.ogg — BP Just H.ogg — BP Just J.ogg — BP Just A.ogg — BP Just B.ogg — BP Just High C.ogg • Step — Name — T — s — S — T — s — T — S — T — s • Ratio — 25:21 — 27:25 — 49:45 — 25:21 — 27:25 — 25:21 — 49:45 — 25:21 — 27:25 • Cents — 301.85 — 133.24 — 147.43 — 301.85 — 133.24 — 301.85 — 147.43 — 301.85 — 133.24 A just BP scale may be constructed from four overlapping 3:5:7 chords, for example, V, II, VI, and IV, though different chords may be chosen to produce a similar scale: (5:3)(7:5) V IX III | III VII I | VI I IV | IV VIII II
Bohlen–Pierce temperament
Bohlen–Pierce temperament
• Illustration — "Chromatic circle" for the Bohlen–Pierce scale, with the third mode of the Lambda scale marked. Bohlen originally expressed the BP scale in both just intonation and equal temperament. The tempered form, which divides the tritave into thirteen equal steps, has become the most popular form. Each step is = 3 = 1.08818… above the next, or 1200 log 2 (3) = 146.3… cents per step. The octave is divided into a fractional number of steps. Twelve equally tempered steps per octave are used in 12-tet. The Bohlen–Pierce scale could be described as 8.202087-tet, because a full octave (1200 cents), divided by 146.3… cents per step, gives 8.202087 steps per octave. Dividing the tritave into 13 equal steps tempers out, or reduces to a unison, both of the intervals 245:243 (about 14 cents, sometimes called the minor Bohlen–Pierce diesis) and 3125:3087 (about 21 cents, sometimes called the major Bohlen–Pierce diesis) in the same way that dividing the octave into 12 equal steps reduces both 81:80 (syntonic comma) and 128:125 (5-limit limma) to a unison. A 7-limit linear temperament tempers out both of these intervals; the resulting Bohlen–Pierce temperament no longer has anything to do with tritave equivalences or non-octave scales, beyond the fact that it is well adapted to using them. A tuning of 41 equal steps to the octave (= 29.27 cents per step) would be quite logical for this temperament. In such a tuning, a tempered perfect twelfth (1902.4 cents, about a half cent larger than a just twelfth) is divided into 65 equal steps, resulting in a seeming paradox: Taking every fifth degree of this octave-based scale yields an excellent approximation to the non-octave-based equally tempered BP scale. Furthermore, an interval of five such steps generates (octave-based) MOSes (moments of symmetry) with 8, 9, or 17 notes, and the 8-note scale (comprising degrees 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 of the 41-equal scale) could be considered the octave-equivalent version of the Bohlen–Pierce scale.
Intervals and scale diagrams
Intervals and scale diagrams
The following are the thirteen notes in the scale (cents rounded to nearest whole number): Justly tuned • Interval (cents) — 133 — 169 — 133 — 148 — 154 — 147 — 134 — 147 — 154 — 148 — 133 — 169 — 133 • Note name — C — Dflat — D — E — F — Gflat — G — H — Jflat — J — A — Bflat — B — C • Note (cents) — 0 — 133 — 302 — 435 — 583 — 737 — 884 — 1018 — 1165 — 1319 — 1467 — 1600 — 1769 — 1902 Equal-tempered • Interval (cents) — 146 — 146 — 146 — 146 — 146 — 146 — 146 — 146 — 146 — 146 — 146 — 146 — 146 • Note name — C — Csharp/Dflat — D — E — F — Fsharp/Gflat — G — H — Hsharp/Jflat — J — A — Asharp/Bflat — B — C • Note (cents) — 0 — 146 — 293 — 439 — 585 — 732 — 878 — 1024 — 1170 — 1317 — 1463 — 1609 — 1756 — 1902 frame="box" rules="all" cellpadding="4" style="text-align:center" align=center • Steps — Name — EQ interval — Cents in EQ — Just intonation interval — Traditional name — Cents in just intonation — Difference • 0 — C — 3 = 1.00 — 0.00 — 1:1 = 1.00 — Unison — 0.00 — 0.00 • 1 — C♯/D♭ — 3 = 1.09 — 146.30 — 27:25 = 1.08 — Great limma — 133.24 — 13.06 • 2 — D — 3 = 1.18 — 292.61 — 25:21 = 1.19 — Quasi-tempered minor third — 301.85 — −9.24 • 3 — E — 3 = 1.29 — 438.91 — 9:7 = 1.29 — Septimal major third — 435.08 — 3.83 • 4 — F — 3 = 1.40 — 585.22 — 7:5 = 1.40 — Lesser septimal tritone — 582.51 — 2.71 • 5 — F♯/G♭ — 3 = 1.53 — 731.52 — 75:49 = 1.53 — BP fifth — 736.93 — −5.41 • 6 — G — 3 = 1.66 — 877.83 — 5:3 = 1.67 — Just major sixth — 884.36 — −6.53 • 7 — H — 3 = 1.81 — 1024.13 — 9:5 = 1.80 — Greater just minor seventh — 1017.60 — 6.53 • 8 — H♯/J♭ — 3 = 1.97 — 1170.44 — 49:25 = 1.96 — BP eighth — 1165.02 — 5.42 • 9 — J — 3 = 2.14 — 1316.74 — 15:7 = 2.14 — Septimal minor ninth — 1319.44 — −2.70 • 10 — A — 3 = 2.33 — 1463.05 — 7:3 = 2.33 — Septimal minimal tenth — 1466.87 — −3.82 • 11 — A♯/B♭ — 3 = 2.53 — 1609.35 — 63:25 = 2.52 — Quasi-tempered major tenth — 1600.11 — 9.24 • 12 — B — 3 = 2.76 — 1755.66 — 25:9 = 2.78 — Classic augmented eleventh — 1768.72 — −13.06 • 13 — C — 3 = 3.00 — 1901.96 — 3:1 = 3.00 — Just twelfth, "tritave" — 1901.96 — 0.00
Symposium
Symposium
The first Bohlen–Pierce symposium took place in Boston on March 7 to 9, 2010, produced by composer Georg Hajdu (Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg) and the Boston Microtonal Society. Co-organizers were the Boston Goethe Institute, the Berklee College of Music, the Northeastern University and the New England Conservatory of Music. The symposium participants, which included Heinz Bohlen, Max Mathews, Clarence Barlow, Curtis Roads, David Wessel, Psyche Loui, Richard Boulanger, Georg Hajdu, Paul Erlich, Ron Sword, Julia Werntz, Larry Polansky, Manfred Stahnke, Stephen Fox, Elaine Walker, Todd Harrop, Gayle Young, Johannes Kretz, Arturo Grolimund, Kevin Foster, presented 20 papers on history and properties of the Bohlen–Pierce scale, performed more than 40 compositions in the novel system and introduced several new musical instruments. Performers included German musicians Nora-Louise Müller and Ákos Hoffman on Bohlen–Pierce clarinets and Arturo Grolimund on Bohlen–Pierce pan flute as well as Canadian ensemble tranSpectra, and US American xenharmonic band ZIA, led by Elaine Walker.
Other unusual tunings or scales
Other unusual tunings or scales
Other non-octave tunings investigated by Bohlen include twelve steps in the tritave, named A12 by Enrique Moreno and based on the 4:7:10 chord Play, seven steps in the octave (7-tet) or similar 11 steps in the tritave, and eight steps in the octave, based on 5:7:9 and of which only the just version would be used. Additionally, the pentave can be divided into eight steps which approximates chords of the form 5:9:13:17:21:25. The Bohlen 833 cents scale is based on the Fibonacci sequence, although it was created from combination tones, and contains a complex network of harmonic relations due to the inclusion of coinciding harmonics of stacked 833 cent intervals. For example, "step 10 turns out to be identical with the octave (1200 cents) to the base tone, at the same time featuring the Golden Ratio to step 3". Alternate scales may be specified by indicating the size of equal tempered steps, for example Wendy Carlos' 78-cent alpha scale and 63.8-cent beta scale, and Gary Morrison's 88-cent scale (13.64 steps per octave or 14 per 1232-cent stretched octave). This gives the alpha scale 15.39 steps per octave and the beta scale 18.75 steps per octave.
39-tone equal division of the tritave
39-tone equal division of the tritave
Paul Erlich proposed dividing each step of the Bohlen–Pierce into thirds so that the tritave is divided into 39 equal steps instead of 13 equal steps. The scale, which can be viewed as three evenly staggered Bohlen-Pierce scales, gives additional odd harmonics. The 13-step scale hits the odd harmonics 3:1; 5:3, 7:3; 7:5, 9:5; 9:7, and 15:7; while the 39-step scale includes all of those and many more (11:5, 13:5; 11:7, 13:7; 11:9, 13:9; 13:11, 15:11, 21:11, 25:11, 27:11; 15:13, 21:13, 25:13, 27:13, 33:13, and 35:13), while still missing almost all of the even harmonics (including 2:1; 3:2, 5:2; 4:3, 8:3; 6:5, 8:5; 9:8, 11:8, 13:8, and 15:8). The size of this scale is about 25 equal steps to a ratio slightly larger than an octave, so each of the 39 equal steps is slightly smaller than half of one of the 12 equal steps of the standard scale. • Number of equally-tempered steps — Equally-tempered interval — Size of equally-tempered interval (cents) — Justly-intoned interval — Size of justly-intoned interval (cents) — Error (cents) • 91 — 12.9802 — 4437.90 — 13/1 — 4440.53 — -2.63 • 85 — 10.9617 — 4145.29 — 11/1 — 4151.32 — -6.03 • 69 — 6.9845 — 3365.00 — 7/1 — 3368.83 — -3.83 • 57 — 4.9812 — 2779.78 — 5/1 — 2786.31 — -6.53 • 49 — 3.9761 — 2389.64 — 4/1 — 2400.00 — -10.36 • 39 — 3.0000 — 1901.96 — 3/1 — 1901.96 — 0.00 • 38 — 2.9167 — 1853.19 — 225/77 — 1856.39 — -3.21 • 35/12 — 1853.18 — 0.00 • 32/11 — 1848.68 — 4.50 • 189/65 — 1847.85 — 5.34 • 37 — 2.8357 — 1804.42 — 99/35 — 1800.09 — 4.33 • 36 — 2.7569 — 1755.65 — 36/13 — 1763.38 — -7.73 • 135/49 — 1754.53 — 1.12 • 11/7 — 1751.32 — 4.33 • 35 — 2.6803 — 1706.88 — 35/13 — 1714.61 — -7.73 • 34 — 2.6059 — 1658.11 — 13/5 — 1654.21 — 3.90 • 33 — 2.5335 — 1609.35 — 63/25 — 1600.11 — 9.24 • 33/13 — 1612.75 — -3.40 • 32 — 2.4631 — 1560.58 — 27/11 — 1554.55 — 6.03 • 31 — 2.3947 — 1511.81 — 12/5 — 1515.64 — -3.83 • 117/49 — 1506.79 — 5.02 • 30 — 2.3282 — 1463.04 — 7/3 — 1466.87 — -3.83 • 29 — 2.2635 — 1414.27 — 25/11 — 1421.31 — -7.04 • 147/65 — 1412.77 — 1.51 • 28 — 2.2006 — 1365.51 — 11/5 — 1365.00 — 0.50 • 27 — 2.1395 — 1316.74 — 15/7 — 1319.44 — -2.70 • 26 — 2.0801 — 1267.97 — 27/13 — 1265.34 — 2.63 • 25 — 2.0223 — 1219.20 — 99/49 — 1217.58 — 1.63 • 24 — 1.9661 — 1170.43 — 49/25 — 1165.02 — 5.41 • 23 — 1.9115 — 1121.67 — 21/11 — 1119.46 — 2.20 • 22 — 1.8584 — 1072.90 — 13/7 — 1071.70 — 1.20 • 21 — 1.8068 — 1024.13 — 9/5 — 1017.60 — 6.53 • 20 — 1.7566 — 975.36 — 135/77 — 972.03 — 3.33 • 7/4 — 968.83 — 6.54 • 19 — 1.7078 — 926.59 — 12/7 — 933.13 — -6.54 • 77/45 — 929.92 — -3.33 • 18 — 1.6604 — 877.83 — 5/3 — 884.36 — -6.53 • 17 — 1.6143 — 829.06 — 21/13 — 830.25 — -1.20 • 16 — 1.5694 — 780.29 — 11/7 — 782.49 — -2.20 • 15 — 1.5258 — 731.52 — 75/49 — 736.93 — -5.41 • 14 — 1.4835 — 682.75 — 49/33 — 684.38 — -1.63 • 13 — 1.4422 — 633.99 — 13/9 — 636.62 — -2.63 • 12 — 1.4022 — 585.22 — 7/5 — 582.51 — 2.70 • 11 — 1.3632 — 536.45 — 15/11 — 536.95 — -0.50 • 10 — 1.3254 — 487.68 — 65/49 — 489.19 — -1.51 • 33/25 — 480.65 — 7.04 • 9 — 1.2886 — 438.91 — 9/7 — 435.08 — 3.83 • 8 — 1.2528 — 390.14 — 49/39 — 395.17 — -5.02 • 5/4 — 386.31 — 3.83 • 7 — 1.2180 — 341.38 — 11/9 — 347.41 — -6.03 • 6 — 1.1841 — 292.61 — 13/11 — 289.21 — 3.40 • 25/21 — 301.85 — -9.24 • 5 — 1.1512 — 243.84 — 15/13 — 247.74 — -3.90 • 4 — 1.1193 — 195.07 — 39/35 — 187.34 — 7.73 • 3 — 1.0882 — 146.30 — 12/11 — 150.64 — -4.33 • 49/45 — 147.43 — -1.12 • 13/12 — 138.57 — 7.73 • 2 — 1.0580 — 97.54 — 35/33 — 101.87 — -4.33 • 1 — 1.0286 — 48.77 — 65/63 — 54.11 — -5.34 • 33/32 — 53.27 — -4.50 • 36/35 — 48.77 — 0.00 • 77/75 — 45.56 — 3.21 • 0 — 1.0000 — 0.00 — 1/1 — 0.00 — 0.00
65-tone equal division of the tritave
65-tone equal division of the tritave
Dividing each step of the Bohlen–Pierce scale into fifths (so that the tritave is divided into 65 steps) results in a very accurate octave (41 steps) and perfect fifth (24 steps), as well as approximations for other just intervals. The scale is practically identical to 41-tone equal division of the octave except that each step is slightly smaller (less than a hundredth of a cent per step). • Number of equally-tempered steps — Equally-tempered interval — Size of equally-tempered interval (cents) — Justly-intoned interval — Size of justly-intoned interval (cents) — Error (cents) • 65 — 3.0000 — 1901.96 — 3/1 — 1901.9550 — 0.00 • 64 — 2.9497 — 1872.69 — 144/49 — 1866.2582 — 6.44 • 63 — 2.9003 — 1843.43 — 32/11 — 1848.6821 — -5.25 • 62 — 2.8517 — 1814.17 — 20/7 — 1817.4878 — -3.32 • 61 — 2.8039 — 1784.91 — 14/5 — 1782.5122 — 2.40 • 60 — 2.7569 — 1755.65 — 135/49 — 1754.5269 — 1.12 • 11/4 — 1751.3179 — 4.33 • 59 — 2.7107 — 1726.39 — 27/10 — 1719.5513 — 6.84 • 58 — 2.6653 — 1697.13 — 8/3 — 1698.0450 — -0.92 • 57 — 2.6206 — 1667.87 — 21/8 — 1670.7809 — -2.91 • 56 — 2.5767 — 1638.61 — 18/7 — 1635.0841 — 3.52 • 55 — 2.5335 — 1609.35 — 81/32 — 1607.8200 — 1.53 • 54 — 2.4910 — 1580.09 — 5/2 — 1586.3137 — -6.23 • 53 — 2.4493 — 1550.82 — 27/11 — 1554.5471 — -3.72 • 52 — 2.4082 — 1521.56 — 12/5 — 1515.6413 — 5.92 • 51 — 2.3679 — 1492.30 — 64/27 — 1494.1350 — -1.83 • 50 — 2.3282 — 1463.04 — 7/3 — 1466.8709 — -3.83 • 49 — 2.2892 — 1433.78 — 16/7 — 1431.1741 — 2.61 • 48 — 2.2508 — 1404.52 — 9/4 — 1403.9100 — 0.61 • 47 — 2.2131 — 1375.26 — 20/9 — 1382.4037 — -7.14 • 46 — 2.1760 — 1346.00 — 24/11 — 1350.6371 — -4.64 • 45 — 2.1395 — 1316.74 — 15/7 — 1319.4428 — -2.70 • 44 — 2.1037 — 1287.48 — 21/10 — 1284.4672 — 3.01 • 43 — 2.0684 — 1258.22 — 33/16 — 1253.2729 — 4.94 • 42 — 2.0337 — 1228.96 — 55/27 — 1231.7667 — -2.81 • 41 — 1.9996 — 1199.69 — 2/1 — 1200.0000 — -0.31 • 40 — 1.9661 — 1170.43 — 49/25 — 1165.0244 — 5.41 • 39 — 1.9332 — 1141.17 — 27/14 — 1137.0391 — 4.13 • 38 — 1.9008 — 1111.91 — 40/21 — 1115.5328 — -3.62 • 37 — 1.8689 — 1082.65 — 15/8 — 1088.2687 — -5.62 • 36 — 1.8376 — 1053.39 — 11/6 — 1049.3629 — 4.03 • 35 — 1.8068 — 1024.13 — 9/5 — 1017.5963 — 6.53 • 34 — 1.7765 — 994.87 — 16/9 — 996.0900 — -1.22 • 33 — 1.7468 — 965.61 — 7/4 — 968.8259 — -3.22 • 32 — 1.7175 — 936.35 — 12/7 — 933.1291 — 3.22 • 31 — 1.6887 — 907.09 — 27/16 — 905.8650 — 1.22 • 30 — 1.6604 — 877.83 — 5/3 — 884.3587 — -6.53 • 29 — 1.6326 — 848.56 — 18/11 — 852.5921 — -4.03 • 28 — 1.6052 — 819.30 — 8/5 — 813.6863 — 5.62 • 27 — 1.5783 — 790.04 — 63/40 — 786.4222 — 3.62 • 26 — 1.5518 — 760.78 — 14/9 — 764.9159 — -4.13 • 25 — 1.5258 — 731.52 — 32/21 — 729.2191 — 2.30 • 24 — 1.5003 — 702.26 — 3/2 — 701.9550 — 0.31 • 23 — 1.4751 — 673.00 — 81/55 — 670.1883 — 2.81 • 72/49 — 666.2582 — 6.74 • 22 — 1.4504 — 643.74 — 16/11 — 648.6821 — -4.94 • 21 — 1.4261 — 614.48 — 10/7 — 617.4878 — -3.01 • 20 — 1.4022 — 585.22 — 7/5 — 582.5122 — 2.70 • 19 — 1.3787 — 555.96 — 11/8 — 551.3179 — 4.64 • 18 — 1.3556 — 526.70 — 27/20 — 519.5513 — 7.14 • 17 — 1.3329 — 497.43 — 4/3 — 498.0450 — -0.61 • 16 — 1.3105 — 468.17 — 21/16 — 470.7809 — -2.61 • 15 — 1.2886 — 438.91 — 9/7 — 435.0841 — 3.83 • 14 — 1.2670 — 409.65 — 80/63 — 413.5778 — -3.93 • 81/64 — 407.8200 — 1.83 • 13 — 1.2457 — 380.39 — 5/4 — 386.3137 — -5.92 • 12 — 1.2249 — 351.13 — 11/9 — 347.4079 — 3.72 • 11 — 1.2043 — 321.87 — 6/5 — 315.6413 — 6.23 • 10 — 1.1841 — 292.61 — 32/27 — 294.1350 — -1.53 • 9 — 1.1643 — 263.35 — 7/6 — 266.8709 — -3.52 • 8 — 1.1448 — 234.09 — 8/7 — 231.1741 — 2.91 • 7 — 1.1256 — 204.83 — 9/8 — 203.9100 — 0.92 • 6 — 1.1067 — 175.57 — 10/9 — 182.4037 — -6.84 • 5 — 1.0882 — 146.30 — 12/11 — 150.6371 — -4.33 • 49/45 — 147.4281 — -1.12 • 4 — 1.0699 — 117.04 — 15/14 — 119.4428 — -2.40 • 16/15 — 111.7313 — 5.31 • 3 — 1.0520 — 87.78 — 21/20 — 84.4672 — 3.32 • 2 — 1.0344 — 58.52 — 28/27 — 62.9609 — -4.44 • 33/32 — 53.2729 — 5.25 • 1 — 1.0170 — 29.26 — 49/48 — 35.6968 — -6.44 • 50/49 — 34.9756 — -5.71 • 55/54 — 31.7667 — -2.51 • 56/55 — 31.1943 — -1.93 • 64/63 — 27.2641 — 2.00 • 0 — 1.0000 — 0.00 — 1/1 — 0.0000 — 0.00
Music and composition
• Illustration — Octave 12-tet (left) compared with tritave 13-tet (right) What does music using a Bohlen–Pierce scale sound like, aesthetically? Dave Benson suggests it helps to use only sounds with only odd harmonics, including clarinets or synthesized tones, but argues that because "some of the intervals sound a bit like intervals in [the more familiar] twelve-tone scale, but badly out of tune", the average listener will continually feel "that something isn't quite right", due to social conditioning. Mathews and Pierce conclude that clear and memorable melodies may be composed in the BP scale, that "counterpoint sounds all right", and that "chordal passages sound like harmony", presumably meaning progression, "but without any great tension or sense of resolution". In their 1989 study of consonance judgment, both intervals of the five chords rated most consonant by trained musicians are approximately diatonic intervals, suggesting that their training influenced their selection and that similar experience with the BP scale would similarly influence their choices. Compositions using the Bohlen–Pierce scale include "Purity", the first movement of Curtis Roads' Clang-Tint. Other computer composers to use the BP scale include Jon Appleton, Richard Boulanger (Solemn Song for Evening (1990)), Georg Hajdu, Juan Reyes' ppP (1999-2000), Ami Radunskaya's "A Wild and Reckless Place" (1990), Charles Carpenter (Frog à la Pêche (1994) & Splat), and Elaine Walker (Stick Men (1991), Love Song, and Greater Good (2011)). David Lieberman, an associate professor of architecture at the University of Toronto, directed the development of a "Stredici", a string instrument tuned to the Bohlen–Pierce scale. The five-meter long instrument was used in concerts in Boston in 2012.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Stredici”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q7622758: Stredici
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Pierce, John R. Music, Cognition, and Computerized Sound: An Introduction to Psychoacoustics. MIT Press. 183. 2001. 978-0-262-53190-0.
- 2.Bohlen, Heinz. 13 Tonstufen in der Duodezime. Acoustica. S. Hirzel Verlag. 39. 2. 76–86. 1978.
- 3.Prooijen, Kees van. A Theory of Equal-Tempered Scales. Interface. 7. 45–56. 1978. 10.1080/09298217808570248.
- 4.Mathews, M.V. Four new scales based on nonsuccessive-integer-ratio chords. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 75, S10(A). S1. S10. 1984. 10.1121/1.2021272.
- 5.Mathews, Max V. Current Directions in Computer Music Research. MIT Press. 167. 1989. 9780262631396.
- 6.165–166.
- 7.169.
- 8.171.
- 9.Mathews; Pierce (1989). p. 170.
- 10.Benson, Dave. Musical scales and the Baker's Dozen. Musik og Matematik. 28/06. 16.
- 11.Mathews; Pierce (1989). p. 172.
- 12.Thrall, Michael Voyne. Synthèse 96: The 26th International Festival of Electroacoustic Music. Computer Music Journal. 21. 2. 90–92 [91]. Summer 1997. 10.2307/3681110.
- 13.John Pierce (1910-2002). Computer Music Journal. 26, No. 4. Languages and Environments for Computer Music. 6–7. Winter 2002.
- 14.Huygens-Fokker Foundation. Discography of Microtonal CDs.
- 15.d'Escrivan, Julio. The Cambridge Companion to Electronic Music. 229. 2007. 9780521868617.
- 16.Benson, Dave. Music: A Mathematical Offering. 237. 2006. 9780521853873.
- 17.Concerts. Bohlen-Pierce-Conference.org.
- 18.David Lieberman participates in the Electric Fields and Mini-Maker Faire Daniels. www.daniels.utoronto.ca.
- 19.Bohlen (1978). footnote 26, page 84.
- 20.Moreno, Enrique Ignacio. Embedding Equal Pitch Spaces and The Question of Expanded Chromas: An Experimental Approach. The Bohlen–Pierce Site. Stanford University. 12–22. Dec 1995.
- 21."Other Unusual Scales", The Bohlen–Pierce Site. Retrieved 27 November 2012. Cites: Bohlen (1978). pp. 76–86.
- 22.Bohlen, Heinz. An 833 Cents Scale. The Bohlen–Pierce Site.
- 23.Sethares, William. Tuning, Timbre, Spectrum, Scale. 60. 2004. 1-85233-797-4.
- 24.Carlos, Wendy. Beauty in the Beast. ESD. 2000.
- 25.BP Scale Structures. The Bohlen–Pierce Site.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Collectables
20,755 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- StrayWork
- Stray BladeWork
- Stray ChildrenWork
- Streamer BassTerminology
- Street Cleaning SimulatorWork
- Street FighterWork
- Street Fighter 30th Anniversary CollectionWork
- Street Fighter 6Work
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with Stredici?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.