tuning systems
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | Date: 2008
tuning systems methods for assigning pitches to the twelve Western pitch names that constitute the octave. The term usually refers to this procedure in the tuning of keyboard instruments. The need for a tuning system hinges on the conflict of pitch relationships in the natural overtone series and the exigencies of musical compositional systems, specifically those utilizing the familiar diatonic scale. Chronologically, the conflict occurred in the early Renaissance when composers had an increasing desire to modulate from one key to another. Implicit in the concept of modulation is the condition of identity of intervals between corresponding scale degrees in different modes or keys. A keyboard instrument tuned to a function of any natural interval except the octave will not satisfy that condition. The Pythagorean system, derived from a scale supposedly invented by Pythagoras (c.550 BC), was generated by acoustically perfect fifths. It exhibited an audible difference between the interval of a semitone and the interval resulting from the subtraction of the semitone from the whole tone. The mean-tone system generated the scale with fifths just flat enough to eliminate this difference, producing a scale containing acoustically perfect thirds. Discrepancy between chromatic notes (semitones) rendered this system unsuitable for successive modulations. Equal temperament tuning, which replaced mean-tone tuning in the 18th cent. and is universally accepted for Western music today, partitions the octave into twelve equal semitones. All intervals except the octave are acoustically out of tune, but by a tolerable degree, making complex modulations and atonality possible.
Author not available, TUNING SYSTEMS.,
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2008
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press
Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles from HighBeam Research
|
COLO. FIRM BUYS NEW HAMPSHIRE'S OCTAVE VOYANT EXPANDS ITS MARKET SHARE WITH PURCHASE
The Boston Globe; 1/21/2003; Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff; 458 words
; Expanding its market share by eliminating a price-cutting competitor, Colorado-based Voyant Technologies said yesterday it has acquired New Hampshire-based Octave Communications. Analysts' estimates of the value of the deal, in which Octave's venture-capital investors traded their shares for shares
Read more
|
 "Newsday (Melville, NY)")
|
Pletcher's Octave, Panty Raid top Alabama.
Newsday (Melville, NY); 8/17/2007; 466 words
; Byline: Paul Moran Aug. 17--SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Were it not for the towering shadow of Rags to Riches, who separated herself from this generation of 3-year-old fillies when she won the Belmont Stakes, Octave's star would shine more brightly and Panty Raid would be her most formidable adversary.
Read more
|
|
British turntables that produce acoustically perfect sound
The Malay Mail; 12/20/2004; Halim Said; 168 words
; SHAH ALAM: When cassettes and cartridges were introduced in the 70's, turntables were slowly forgotten and now virtually unheard of. But turntables are making a comeback, with the introduction of Linn Sondek LP12 from Linn Products Limited recently. The British-based company is a world-leader in
Read more
|
|
Making a joyful, and acoustically perfect, noise; City church rededicates expanded chancel
Intelligencer Journal Lancaster, PA; 11/11/2002; Susan Lindt; 395 words
; They call it "picante red." But the intriguing new splash of color surrounding the chancel at one of the city's oldest churches isn't the only thing that has its congregation singing. A renovation plan to make the sanctuary of First Reformed Church United Church of Christ "acoustically alive" has
Read more
|
|
Octave enters wireless instant messaging space.
RCR Wireless News; 9/10/2001; 262 words
; NASHUA, N.HThe wireless instant messaging space just got a little more crowded as Octave Communications released a new subscription service for instant group communications aimed at wireless carriers and service providers. Octave said its new set of applications, called MeetAbout, will allow any
Read more
|
|
NH's Fastest GROWING Private Companies: OCTAVE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
Business NH Magazine; 9/1/2002; Mowry, Matthew J; Padilla, Diane T; 596 words
; Average Annual Sales Growth 1999-2001: 393% Specialty: Audio conferencing bridge systems and instant group conversation technology. Since launching in 1998, Octave's sales have skyrocketed, landing multi-million dollar contracts during the past three years. The company's initial success came from
Read more
|
|
Music for meditation. (Higher Octave Music Inc.)
Los Angeles Business Journal; 12/15/1997; Swertlow, Frank; 890 words
; NEW AGE RECORD LABEL HIGHER OCTAVE HAS RISEN TO THE TOP OF ITS GENRE AMONG INDEPENDENTS BY PICKING THE RIGHT ACTS AND MARKETING EFFECTIVELY Hot tubs, weight-lifting rooms, garden concerts and a panoramic view of the Pacific where staffers ride the surf during breaks - for New Age record label
Read more
|
 "The Racing Post (London, England)")
|
Horse Racing: Unbridled's Song a hit year in, year out; Pedigree analysis Octave the latest feather in consistent sire's cap.(Sports)
The Racing Post (London, England); 7/24/2007; 1485 words
; ... surely prove hard to beat in the Distaff. Octave comes from the seventh crop of Unbridled's Song, who has rarely been out of the news since his two-year-old days, and whose record as a commercial sire is nothing short of remarkable. He was one of the highest ...
Read more
|
 "Times Union (Albany, NY)")
|
Victory the right note for Octave: Pletcher counting on filly after Rags to Riches out.
Times Union (Albany, NY); 9/22/2007; 535 words
; Byline: Tim Wilkin Sep. 22--Rags to Riches is out and now trainer Todd Pletcher needs to find a new 3-year-old filly to carry his barn to the Breeders' Cup. He doesn't have to look very far. Pletcher has Octave. The classy gray 3-year-old, who has taken a back seat to Rags to Riches all year, is
Read more
|
|
Managing Information Security Risks: The OCTAVE Approach.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
Security Management; 12/1/2003; Rothke, Ben; 226 words
; Managing Information Security Risks: The OCTAVE Approach. By Christopher Alberts and Audrey Dorofee; published by Addison-Wesley, www.aw-bc.com (Web); 512 pages; $49.49. OCTAVE--which stands for Operationally Critical Threat, Asset and Vulnerability Evaluation--is a methodology for independent
Read more
|
Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses
|
tuning and temperament
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
... pitch, and the modification of that tuning to lessen dissonance. Tuning assures a good sound for a given ... tones; temperament compromises the tuning to assure a good sound for any and ... mistuned to allow for the perfect tuning of others or all intervals must be slightly mistuned. Before 1700, ...
Read more
|
|
tuning
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
see tuning systems .
Read more
|
|
|
control systems
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
... to maintain actual system performance close to a desired set of performance specifications. Open-loop control systems (e.g., automatic toasters and alarm clocks) are those in which the output has no effect on the input. Closed-loop control systems (e.g., thermostats, engine governors, automotive cruise-control ...
Read more
|
|
|
temperament
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
... correct values to provide a system of tuning whereby music can move from key to ... cannot be varied in performance. Many systems have been devised, going back to the late 15th cent. Just Intonation refers to systems in which some fifths are tuned unacceptably ... may be pure. Temperament refers to ...
Read more
|
|
|
equal temperament
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
see tuning systems .
Read more
|