Sympathetic Vibratory Physics

Keely
"Heat increases the amplitude of the oscillations in a direct ratio to the temperature of the natural scale." [Law of Variation of Atomic Oscillation by Temperature]

Ramsay
Some of the elements of the Chromatic System were known 200 years ago. The Diatonic scale, being called the "Natural scale," implied that the chromatic chords were consider to be artificial; but the notes of the chromatic chords, from their PROXIMITY to the notes of the tonic chord, fit to them like hand and glove. Nothing in music is more sweetly natural and pleasingly effective than such resolutions; and hence their extensive use in the hands of the Masters. The chromatic chords have close relations to the whole system of music, making the progressions of its harmonies easy and delectable, and producing effects often enchanting and elevating, as well as often subtle and profound; and while they are ever at hand at the call of the Composer, they are ever in loyal obedience to the laws of their own structure and system. When a diatonic chord precedes another diatonic chord belonging to the same scale, it has one note moving in semitonic progression;¹ but when a chromatic chord precedes a diatonic chord, it may have three semitonic progressions.² The primary chromatic chord resolves into 8 of the 24 diatonic tonic chords, with 3 semitonic progressions. These identical notes of the chromatic chord, with only some changes of names, resolve into another 8 of the 24 tonic chords, with 2 semitonic progressions and one note in common; and when they resolve into the third and last 8 of the 24 tonic chords, they move with one semitonic progression and 2 notes in common. So to the chromatic chord there are no foreign keys.³ And as it is with the first chromatic chord, so with the other two. [Scientific Basis and Build of Music, page 51]

The triplet B, D, F, has been called the imperfect triad, because in it the two diatonic semitones, B-C and E-F, and the two minor thirds which they constitute, come together in this so-called imperfect fifth. But instead of deserving any name indicating imperfection, this most interesting triad is the Diatonic germ of the chromatic chord, and of the chromatic system of chords. Place this triad to precede the tonic chord of the key of C major, and there are two semitonic progressions. Place it to precede the tonic chord of the key of F# major, and there are three semitonic progressions. Again, if we place it to precede the tonic chord of the key of A minor, there are two semitonic progressions; but make it precede the tonic chord of E? minor, and there are three semitonic progressions. This shows that the chromatic chord has its germ in, and its outgrowth from the so-called "natural notes," that is notes without flats or sharps, notes with white keys; and that these natural notes furnish, with only the addition of either A? from the major scale or G# from the minor, a full chromatic chord for one major and one minor chord, and a secondary chromatic chord for one more in each mode. [Scientific Basis and Build of Music, page 52]

Ramsay
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In the above line it will be readily observed that these three chromatic chords, having each of their intervals a minor third, involve, as necessary elements of their build, every one of the twelve semitones at one point or another of the line. This is a second witness to the legitimacy of the chromatic scale of twelve semitones. We have our first witness to the same in the evolution of the semitones progressively in the course of the modulations by which, in growth-like continuity, Nature links the successive keys; whether developed upward, as is the natural way of the majors; or downward, as in the natural way of the minors; or half upward and half downward, which is an expedient in order to simplify the signatures. In whichever direction the modulation is effected, one note is always divided, and must, true to Nature, be signified by placing a sharp or a ?, as the case may be, to the 4-comma altered interval, and this always leaves a 5-comma interval to occupy the place to which Nature has assigned such interval in the original scale. When this operation has been twelve times performed, we have the chromatic scale of twelve semitones. Thus by two witnesses the thing is established. By further examination of these chromatic chords we find other interesting features beside their witness to the twelve semitones of the octave. [Scientific Basis and Build of Music, page 56]

The true Natural Scale of a Fifth [Scientific Basis and Build of Music, page 64]

embedded; and in the minor tonic chord A C E in the same way is embedded its own semitone; and in these chords they appear in their proper places as third and fourth, C, d, E f, G; and second and third, A, b C, d, E. It is these first five notes of the octave scale which in a very distinctive way constitute the natural scale, which can be harmonized consecutively in one manner. The octave is seen in this view to be a compound scale, inasmuch as a compounding method of harmonizing has to be resorted to in passing consecutively from the sixth to the seventh. Similar compounding has to be done in the minor as well.¹ [Scientific Basis and Build of Music, page 65]

Moreover, it is only from one to five, that is from C to G in ascending, which is its proper direction in the genesis, that the major in being harmonized does not admit of minor chords, but if we descend this same natural major scale of the fifth from five to one, that is from G to C, the first chord is C E G; the next chord is F A C; if this is succeeded by the minor chord A C E, there are two notes in common and one semitonic progression, as very facile step in harmony; and the following two notes are most naturally harmonized as minor chords. So modulation into the minor, even in this major scale, is very easy in descending, which is the proper direction of the minor genesis.² In a similar way, it is only from five to one, that is from E to A in descending, which is its proper genetic direction, that the minor in being harmonized does not admit of major chords; but if we ascend this same minor scale of the fifth from one to five, the first chord is A C E, the next is E G B, and if this chord be followed by the major C E G, there are here again two notes in common and one semitonic progression; and the two notes following are then most naturally harmonized as major chords. So modulation into the major, even in this minor scale, is very natural and easy in ascending, which is the proper direction of the major genesis.³ The dominant minor and the tonic major are, like the subdominant major and the tonic minor, very intimately related in having two notes in common and one semitonic progression. [Scientific Basis and Build of Music, page 65]

The great Genetic Scale, major and minor, the seed-bed and nursery of all, is that from which first of all the natural scale of the fifth arises into existence; and three fifths are generated in the major ascending side and three also in the descending minor side of the twofold genesis, giving us six fifths in all. At the top of the ascending genesis we find the major octave scale standing solid and in its perfect order and proportion; and at the bottom of the descending genesis we have the minor octave. [Scientific Basis and Build of Music, page 66]

the excess of the vibrations of the one note over the other makes one or more sounds which are called "grave harmonics;" e.g., in the interval of the fifth, in the ratio of 2:3, the excess of 3 over 2 is 1, so the grave harmonic is an octave below the lowest of the two notes, that is, the ratio of 1:2. This reinforces the lowest note, 2, and gives it a solid effect. In this way the octave is incorporated into the fifth, and unity with variety is combined with the law of continuity at the very threshold of harmony. In 32 of the 42 intervals the grave harmonics are notes which belong to the natural scale. In the 10 remaining intervals which have not the exact number of vibrations found anywhere in the natural scale, 6 of them are from the number 7, thus - 7, 7, 7, 21, 21, 35; the remaining 4 are from 11, 13, 13, and 19. [Scientific Basis and Build of Music, page 77]

At the first, in the laws of quantities and motions adjusting musical vibrations, there is one chord of the three notes, F, A, C, the root, middle, and top of the five notes which compose the true natural scale; this one chord can be reproduced a fifth higher, C, E, G, in the same mathematical form, taking the top of the first for the root of the second chord. In like manner this second can be reproduced another fifth higher, G, B, D, still in the same mathematical form, and so fit to be a member of the chord-scale of a key. But the law does not admit of another reproduction without interfering with the first chord, so that a fourth fifth produces no new effect; but the whole key is simply a fifth higher, i.e., if the fourth fifth has been properly produced by multiplying the top of the third fifth by 3 and by 5, the generating primes in music. That this carries us into a new scale is seen in that the F is no longer the F? but F#, and the A is no longer A? but A,. But if we suppose the fourth fifth to be simply the old notes with their own vibration numbers, then D, F, A would not be a fifth belonging either to the major or the minor mode, but a fifth a comma less. The letters of it would read like the minor subdominant, D, F, A; but the intervals, as found in the upward development of the major genesis, instead of being, when expressed in commas, 9, 5, 8, 9, which is the minor subdominant, would be 8, 5, 9, 8, which is not a fifth of the musical system; these having always, whether major or minor, two 9's, one [Scientific Basis and Build of Music, page 77]

The simple natural scale is the fifth; the compound natural scale is the octave; the harmony scale, or chord-scale, is the three fifths; the great genetic scale is six octaves; for, like the six creation days, it takes the six octaves to give birth to the elements of which the wondrous structure of our music is built up; the birthplace of B, the seventh of the octave scale, is the sixth octave of the great genetic scale. The area of the twelve major and twelve minor scales is twelve fifths or seven octaves, the twelfth fifth being a comma and the apotome minor in advance of the seventh octave. This is a quantity so small that it can be ignored in real music; and the two notes, say E# and F, joined to close the circle of this horizon of our music world. E# is the top of the twelfth fifth, and F is the top of the seventh octave; and they are practically, though not exactly mathematically, the same note. Illustrations of this will be found among the plates of this work. [Scientific Basis and Build of Music, page 79]

In respect of harmony, the natural scale of five notes is like the scale of man's five senses; as the other notes can be compounded so as to form the octave of harmony, so sensation is joined by reflection, and new elements of knowledge come into existence in the process of reasoning. But the knowledge we have in our logical deductions is knowledge on different terms from sensation, which is intuitive; though if the logical process be rightly done, it is knowledge as certainly as the compound chords of the octave scale are harmony, quite as much, and a little more, perhaps, though on more complex terms, as that of the five notes of the natural scale. [Scientific Basis and Build of Music, page 86]

Hughes
suspected. Let us take as our standard of colours the series given by the disintegration of white light, the so-called spectrum: as our standard of musical notes, let us take the natural or diatonic scale. We may justly compare the two, for the former embraces all possible gradations of simple colours, and the latter a similar gradation of notes of varying pitch. Further, the succession of colours in the spectrum is perfectly harmonious to the eye. Their invariable order is— red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet; any other arrangement of the colours is less enjoyable. Likewise, the succession of notes in the scale is the most agreeable that can be found. The order is—C, D, E, F, G, A, B; any attempt to ascend or descend the entire scale by another order is disagreeable. The order of colours given in the spectrum is exactly the order of luminous wave-lengths, decreasing from red to violet. The order of notes in the scale is also exactly the order of sonorous wave-lengths, decreasing from C to B." [Harmonies of Tones and Colours, On Colours as Developed by the same Laws as Musical Harmonies2, page 19]

Sympathetic Vibratory Physics

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