How Many Notes per Octave?
Several seven-tone subsets of such scales are important in Western music. We shall consider four examples of a particular seven-tone (diatonic) scale — the “major” scale, and label the notes in each octave in the common solfeggio manner: “do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, and ti” These include two examples each of two distinct approaches to scale building: (1) specification completely in terms of exact consonant intervals (Pythagorean, Just), and (2) the use of tempered intervals (Mean-tone, Equal Temperament). Charts are included in this handout, comparing the four scales in various ways.
