Melodic consonance ....

[KEVIN AUSTIN <KAUSTIN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Regarding ordering melodic intervals, perhaps _consonance_ is a poor term.
Maybe 'pleasantness' (or possibly something resembling 'stability' or
'weight') could be considered more appropriate. I also count 25
within-octave melodic intervals (ascending and descending having very
different characteristics).

There may also be the consideration as to (in western music [sic]) how the
interval functions within tonality ... as for example, the descending
major third of the Beethoven Fifth Symphony (^5, ^3), creates in the
educated ear a different sense of 'stability', than does the ^8 ^b6
interval, and while both are major thirds they appear to have different
'weight'.

There may also be an element (in western music) of 'diatonic identity',
eg the 5th and 6th notes of the Beethoven Fifth might appear to have the
same 'type' of weight (even though they are a minor third), as the first two.

I have also noted with some students who have perfect pitch, that the
concept of 'intervalic identity' is weak, compared to those (most of us)
who have only relative pitch.

These comments have no formal scientific basis, just observation of
classes over several decades.

Best

Kevin
kaustin@vax2.concordia.ca


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      Professor K Austin
      EuCuE - Department of Music / Departement de musique
      universite Concordia University
      7141, rue Sherbrooke o
      Montreal, QC  H4B 1R6
      CANADA

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>At 15:36 20.06.00 +0200, you wrote:
>>Hi,
>>
>>Does someone know how to order the 13 within-octave MELODIC intervals
>>(prime, minor 2nd,... octave) as a function of consonance. I believe to
>>know that there are more than one different possible orderings, in
>>dependence of the theory on consonance (psycho-acoustical, mathematical,
>>... theory). Thanks in advance for any help!
>>
>>Piet V.
>>
>>Piet G. Vos
>>section Perception NICI, U. Nijmegen
>>P.O.Box 9104
>>6500 HE Nijmegen NL
>>tel: +31 24 36126 31/20; fax: +31 24 361 60 66; vos@nici.kun.nl
>>home-page: http://www.nici.kun.nl/~vos