On rational numbers with a small numerators and denominators in music

William Turner* (Corresponding Author)

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Rational numbers with small numerators and denominators play a special role in music. For example the frequency ratio 2/1 corresponds to the interval of an octave, whilst the frequency ratios 3/2,5/4,6/5 correspond to the intervals of a major triad. These have led to various tunings of the set of notes on a stave involving rational ratios, known as just intonation. The differences between these tunings are quite subtle. Here, by the process of generalisation,we explore some other ways of using rational numbers with small numerators and denominators in music. We include a collection of tunings of the notes on the stave obtained this way, where the differences between tunings are not so subtle.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)33-50
Number of pages18
JournalFar East Journal of Mathematical Education
Volume22
Early online date28 Jun 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Jun 2022

Keywords

  • rational numbers
  • tunings of the notes

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