MUSIC! Please, help....

Music has, basically, EIGHT notes.....yet, those eight (AND. TONES....below and above) encompass ALL music!!!

SOMEONE, without a "tin ear" please help me to understand.

HERE...to start....I hear a lot of "string" instruments, among others....some are "breathe"-types....

ok....here WE GO!!!




(I APPRECIATE all replies.....really, I do.....might not get back to all, but...KNOW THAT you are welcomed!!)

EDIT_///"embedding "disabled"...ok.....HERE:

www.youtube.com...

So, same question applies.......(after you listen to the NICE music).....HOW do EIGHT notes make MUSIC???

Seriously....please EXPLAIN this to my "Tin Ear"...

Thanks, in advance.....the "BACK-BEAT" notwithstanding...........( lol )........

not sure what the question is but here is the difference between western music and arabic music


Scales in traditional Western music generally consist of seven notes and repeat at the octave. Notes in the commonly used scales (see just below) are separated by whole and half step intervals of tones and semitones. The harmonic minor scale includes a three-semitone step; the pentatonic includes two of these.

Western music in the Medieval and Renaissance periods (1100–1600) tends to use the white-note diatonic scale C-D-E-F-G-A-B. Accidentals are rare, and somewhat unsystematically used, often to avoid the tritone.

Music of the common practice periods (1600–1900) uses three types of scale:

The diatonic scale (seven notes)—this includes the major scale and the natural minor
The melodic and harmonic minor scales (seven notes)


In music, the double harmonic major scale[1] is a scale whose gaps may evoke "exotic" music to Western listeners. This is also known as the Arabic and [1][2] the Byzantine scale. It is also likened to the gypsy scale because of the augmented 2 between the 2nd and 3rd degrees. Arabic scale may also refer to any Arabic mode, the simplest of which, however, to Westerners, resembles the double harmonic major scale.[3].
C Arabic scale: C-D♭-E-F-G-A♭-B. About this sound Play (help·info)

The sequence of steps comprising the double harmonic scale is:

half – augmented second – half – whole – half – augmented second – half.

Or, in relation to the tonic note:

minor 2nd, major 3rd, perfect 4th and 5th, minor 6th, major 7th.

Originally posted by ProudBird
Music has, basically, EIGHT notes.....yet, those eight (AND. TONES....below and above) encompass ALL music!!!

SOMEONE, without a "tin ear" please help me to understand.

HERE...to start....I hear a lot of "string" instruments, among others....some are "breathe"-types....

ok....here WE GO!!!

(I APPRECIATE all replies.....really, I do.....might not get back to all, but...KNOW THAT you are welcomed!!)

Really not sure what you're getting at, but here goes:

First of all, the chromatic scale is made up of twelve notes, not eight. And that is just the tones or frequencies that have been decided upon in western civilization as "standard". There are frequencies between these notes. For instance, on a fretless stringed instrument, you would see that if you put your finger on a string and slowly ran up the length of it, there is no abrupt jump in frequencies. Imagine a slide whistle, or a slide guitar which can easily achieve this effect. Also, when a guitarist bends a note, he is utilizing these inbetween notes as well. Again, not sure what your question or whatever was, but hope that helps.

reply to post by jazzguy


I'm trying to be a jazz guy, too. Do you have any music online I can listen to?

i dont have any music of my own. ive got a little studio but use it to record walking bass and bass solos to jazz standards. i love it

i find the theory behind jazz quite facinating.
soloing over complex chord and key changes is (to me) the pinnacle of music. doesnt get any better than that

reply to post by jazzguy


Thanks !!!! All contributions help....much appreciated!

reply to post by notquiteright


TWELVE, not eight?!?

OK......GREAT to learn.....'Twelve'....oh, my......I thought only 'EIGHT' based on my experience on a piano....oh....have a LOT to learn about music........(lol).....THANKS!!!

(Based on "octaves"...that is "eight"....oh, well...TWELVE, huh?? Wow.....)

Originally posted by jazzguy
not sure what the question is but here is the difference between western music and arabic music


Scales in traditional Western music generally consist of seven notes and repeat at the octave. Notes in the commonly used scales (see just below) are separated by whole and half step intervals of tones and semitones. The harmonic minor scale includes a three-semitone step; the pentatonic includes two of these.

Western music in the Medieval and Renaissance periods (1100–1600) tends to use the white-note diatonic scale C-D-E-F-G-A-B. Accidentals are rare, and somewhat unsystematically used, often to avoid the tritone.

Music of the common practice periods (1600–1900) uses three types of scale:

The diatonic scale (seven notes)—this includes the major scale and the natural minor
The melodic and harmonic minor scales (seven notes)


In music, the double harmonic major scale[1] is a scale whose gaps may evoke "exotic" music to Western listeners. This is also known as the Arabic and [1][2] the Byzantine scale. It is also likened to the gypsy scale because of the augmented 2 between the 2nd and 3rd degrees. Arabic scale may also refer to any Arabic mode, the simplest of which, however, to Westerners, resembles the double harmonic major scale.[3].
C Arabic scale: C-D♭-E-F-G-A♭-B. About this sound Play (help·info)

The sequence of steps comprising the double harmonic scale is:

half – augmented second – half – whole – half – augmented second – half.

Or, in relation to the tonic note:

minor 2nd, major 3rd, perfect 4th and 5th, minor 6th, major 7th.

Your name is very apt!

reply to post by jazzguy


That's cool. I love the theory as well.

reply to post by ProudBird


I think what happens is that we can entrain internal cycles within our brain to match external beats, tones and music.

What this evokes with music is programmed emotive and sensual/recollection responses as these waves of entrained neural activation ripple across the brain.

As the entrainment is changed, in sometimes unexpected ways, this affects the way our brains process and creates similar emotional responses in all entrained listeners. If you don't choose to "go with the flow" then the emotional responses don't normally affect you.

Also, music and frequency are wider than the scales and steps set by our instruments.

Theolonius Monk wanted to produce musical notes between the semitones he could play on the piano and so he would play adjacent semitones to suggest the note between them. If you know what he is doing and why, you can hear these in-between notes and it adds to the appreciation of his music.

My 2c anyway!

reply to post by ProudBird


Right, the 8 comes from it being the 8th note of a given major scale (or where it comes back to the root an octave up), but in all, there are twelve different notes.

heres a little video that i found years ago that breaks down a jazz standard. a wealth of information in this one video alone.

reply to post by jazzguy


When you quote wikipedia (which should never be quoted in my humble opinion) be sure to put it in quotes and link to the source to avoid copyright infringement. Some people take that pretty seriously.

As far as the question: How can all music be made using what would seem to be such a finite amount of notes? Have I got that right? Kudos to you for an awesome question!

As one poster mentioned above, there are an infinite number of "notes", the same as there are infinite numbers between 1 and 2. Some have just been standardized to make it possible for our finite minds to cope with such immensity.

Scales were invented as a part of this standardization. Different cultures have come to use different scales to make their own style of music. When we hear the basic sounds contained in a melody, we can associate those to specific cultures because of the underlying scales.

Also, remember that just as you select certain notes to play, you therefore choose not to play other notes, but even the unplayed notes make up the whole song, as you couldn't have the notes you did choose without the ones you left out.

Life is kind of like that.

reply to post by ZeroReady


Very cool point about the "notes left out". I like the way you put that.

reply to post by ProudBird


Your question is a lot like asking, "How can these prime colors



present like this?"



Craft, my friend. Talent and perseverance.

reply to post by ProudBird


Ok....
It looks like you need to start from the top. Forget about scales, modes and so on for now.. Too early for that.

So...

May I suggest you start by reading about "Pythagoras" and the "Monochord"?
Just google it.
It's going to be a good starting point.

Ps: western tempered music has in fact 12 notes, not 8.

reply to post by windword


More like how it equals this




It is a painting, not a photograph.

Originally posted by LordAdef
May I suggest you start by reading about "Pythagoras" and the "Monochord"?
Just google it.

Exactly.
There's not 8 notes, not 12 notes, there are in fact as many as you like before the music starts becoming dischordant to your ears.
As LordAdef points out, it goes back to the idea of different frequencies being a multiple of each other, the simpler multiples being the more pleasing sounds, twice being an "octave"... and so forth.

How many of these multiples you choose to add to your instrument (1:2, 2:3, 3:4, 2:5, 3:5.. whatever) is not a fixed number.
Pythagoras knew this.

reply to post by satron

It is a painting, not a photograph.

Yes, and music is art that is deliberately composed, not random sound. A painting is color rearranged by an artist, not a photograph of what god made.

Here's some Pythagoras stuff I found on you tube, on Lordadef's suggestion. Good stuff.

reply to post by windword


Thanks windword!
Where is the op? It looks as thou he's lost interest in the subject rsrs

Anyway.. In short the 12 notes are derived from the harmonic series of the first harmonics cicle. You simply need to rearrange the notes within the range of one octave.

In a curious way music evolved through history following the harmonic series' intervals. From an octave interval all the way through until reaching the 20th century's microtonalism.