Re: [microsound] Re: 5/4's for natur(al)ists

[Michal Seta <mis@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, 22 Oct 2002 16:49:35 -0400
Joshua Schrei <josh@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> that being said, I think there's something that humans naturally respond to
> about 4/4 time. why else would it be so prevalent?

conditionning.

> for instance, in western musical notation, everything is based on
> dividing up measures into four parts. music is almost always expressed in
> quarters or sometimes eighths.

since around 1400's.  Before that it was a whole different story.

> if this was purely a mathematical process,
> wouldn't it be based on a decimal system like mathematics is?

It would be based on ratios.  Pythagoras has already proved it.

> why do we
> naturally gravitate towards fours? four seasons, four directions, etc...

It is not natural.  We have been conditioned to think this way over the centuries.  Look at the far east (which has been isolated from the western influence until about XVI century) their ideas come mostly in 5's: 5 elements (and everything else is based on them).

-- 
../MiS

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