Re: [Phys-L] music scales

[Todd Pedlar <pedlto01@luther.edu>]

Hi Anthony -

I teach our Physics of Sound and Musical Acoustics course - it's a really
interesting history, the development moving from Pythagorean temperament,
to equal temperaments.  One book you might be interested to look at is
Measured Tones - The Interplay of Physics and Music.  I've taught out of
that text and it's quite good.  Also, anything by Thomas Rossing (esp. The
Science of Sound) is an excellent resource for you - as is the text by Berg
and Stork.

Cheers,

Todd

On Sat, Feb 15, 2025 at 9:17 PM Anthony Lapinski via Phys-l <
phys-l@mail.phys-l.org> wrote:

> I'm teaching a sound unit (in my high school class) in a few months. I was
> reading/revising some of my class notes and wanted to add a small section
> about tuning forks when I introduce waves and frequency.
>
> I have a standard set of tuning forks (C D E F G A B C) with these
> frequencies (Hz):
>
> 256, 288, 320, 341.3, 384, 426.6, 480, 512
>
> I often wondered why two of them (F, A) were decimals...
> They sound like a normal scale.
> So (512 - 256)/8 = 32 Hz
>
> The first three (C, D, E notes) differ by 32, as do the last two (B, C
> notes); the others don't.
>
> I then searched the history of tuning forks and came across the equal
> temperament scale (same frequency ratio of adjacent notes):
>
> 261.3, 293.66, 329.63, 349.23, 392, 440, 493.88, 523.25
>
> Pianos and guitars are tuned to this scale. Any other instruments?
>
> I'm NOT a musician. Does anyone know when and why these scales were
> developed? And why aren't standard tuning forks equal temperament to match
> what some instruments produce? Any information, web references, or
> textbooks will be much appreciated. Thanks!
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-- 
Todd K. Pedlar
Professor of Physics and Physics Department Head
Luther College, Decorah, IA
pedlto01@luther.edu
(563) 387-1628
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