The Law of the Octave and Natural Resonances

OctaveLaw titlepageThose of us who own tuneable synthesizers posses an amazing freedom. For not only may we quit Equal Temperament and explore Just Intonation, but also we may use any frequency as our Pitch Standard. We are no longer tied to “A”=440 Hz. as our base frequency. But why choose one base frequency rather than another? Is the choice of a tuning Standard arbitrary? This article represents my research for a Standard which is based upon resonances found in the natural world. The key to unlocking these natural resonances is the Law of the Octave.

This article was published in 1/1 – the Journal of the Just Intonation Network (San Francisco) in 1985.

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www.siementerpstra.com/writings/Terpstra-OctaveLaw.pdf