How many possible musical notes are there?
For the first section I’ve discounted rhythm so as to focus only on the permutations of notes. All melodies should be contained within an octave — C to C’ inclusive. Any of the 13 chromatic notes of the octave can be used….Four to infinity.
| Length of melody | No of possible melodies |
|---|---|
| 2 | 25 |
| 3 | 469 |
| 4 | 7,825 |
| 5 | 122,461 |
Are there more than 12 musical notes?
There are way more than 12 pitches in music. The currently popular 12-tone, equally divided scale was only fully adopted a few hundred years ago in the West and is still not universal. The underlying reason for choosing the notes we have is that they harmonize with the tonic, or keynote.
Are we running out of melodies?
The short answer is yes, there’s a limited number of sounds we can hear and thus a finite number of possible ways of combining them. Don’t panic, though. Before you start stockpiling melodies and burying riffs in your garden, you should know that there’s still a lot of them left. New tunes are out there.
How many piano chords are there?
There are 12 major chords that you can play on the piano. To make a major chord, you play the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of a major scale together. For example, the C major scale has the notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. So you use C E G to make the major chord.
Why are there only 12 tones in music?
The reason there are only 12 tones is because of the Harmonic series. In ELI5 terms, the ratios of these 12 notes are approximately the most harmonious. An octave is the most harmonious interval. In fact, an octave is so harmonious, it sounds to us like the same note.
Why are there 12 notes in a key?
Since Western music favors consonant harmonies, these are the 12 most useful “notes” in any key. Each of those frequencies (with some adjustments) also becomes the basis for its own key center. aren’t there an infinite number of possible pitches, and moreover, an infinite number of major scales
Why does Baroque music have only 12 tones?
In some countries, they prefer A=442, and some think that baroque music should be played closer to 415. The reason there are only 12 tones is because of the Harmonic series. In ELI5 terms, the ratios of these 12 notes are approximately the most harmonious. An octave is the most harmonious interval.
What is the most stable note interval in Western music?
There are things called microtones that are not common in western music, but which have notes within the intervals of the 12 notes in western music. You’re asking a few different questions: The most stable, and hence consonant, frequency interval, followed by 3:2 (fifth).