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seven colors

Hughes
The eighteen tones of keyed instruments veering round and in musical clef below, the twelve seen that develope major keys
—The seven colours answer to the seven white notes
—The use of the two chasms, the key-note C and its root F rising from them
—A major key-note complete in itself, embracing the eighteen tones
—In the whole process of harmony there is limit, every key-note having its point of rest, and yet it is illimitable, . . . . . . . 22 [Harmonies of Tones and Colours, Table of Contents2 - Harmonies]

Throughout the scheme seven tones and seven colours develope in every harmony. In the relationship between tones and colours the seven may be con- [Harmonies of Tones and Colours, On Colours as Developed by the same Laws as Musical Harmonies2, page 19]

The tones between the seven white notes of keyed instruments, and the tints and shades between the seven colours, cause the multequivalency of colours and of tones; consequently every colour, as every musical harmony, has the capability of ascending or descending, to and fro in circles, or advancing and retiring in musical clef. It is a curious coincidence that Wünsch, nearly one hundred years ago, believed in his discovery of the primary colours to be red, green, and violet; and in this scheme, red, answering to the note C, must necessarily be the first visible colour, followed by green and violet, but these not as primary colours, all colours in turn becoming primaries and secondaries in the development of the various harmonies. To gain facts by experiment, the colours must be exactly according to natural proportions—certain proportions producing white, and others black. In this scheme, green and red are shown to be a complementary pair, and therefore (as Clerk Maxwell has proved) red and green in right proportions would produce yellow. The same fact has been proved in Lord Rayleigh's experiments with the spectroscope. Yellow and ultra-violet, [Harmonies of Tones and Colours, On Colours as Developed by the same Laws as Musical Harmonies3, page 20]

The twelve which develope twelve major harmonies are written thus

Half Note

the other six which are incapabable of developing major harmonies thus

Whole Note

without regard to musical time. The seven colours are shown to answer to the seven white notes, the other five being intermediate tones and colours. A flat marked to a note indicates that it is nearer to the tone or colour below; a sharp means that it is nearer to the tone or colour above. The notes and chasms are not written according to accurately measured degrees. [Harmonies of Tones and Colours, Diagram I - The Eighteen Tones of Keyed Instruments, page 22a]

See Also


12.01 - Scale of Locked Potentials
color
diatonic
seven
seven tones
seven white notes

Created by Dale Pond. Last Modification: Saturday February 20, 2021 03:06:35 MST by Dale Pond.