Finbarr Dillon

What is the temperament of Limestone.

The question posed in this thesis is a refined version of the more general question ‘How do you tune a non-harmonic sound’. The question posed in this thesis is ‘What is the temperament of Limestone’. Tuning is the process of adjusting the pitch of the tones of a musical instrument to establish typical intervals between these tones. Tempering is the process of setting the pitch intervals of a musical scale. Tempering an interval involves the deliberate use of such minor adjustments to enable musical possibilities. So what is the temperament of a non-harmonic sound - Limestone? How is its tuning found, upon which a tuning system can be based on?

The Consonance and Dissonance curves provide a potential solution. Related closely with these curves is the psychoacoustic phenomenon of Critical Bands, Smoothness and Roughness (Helmholtz, Plomp and Levelt). From the spectrum of the non-harmonic sounds, the Consonance and Dissonance curves can be calculated. These curves give the interval steps of the scale, based on its dissonance minimum points, i.e. dissonance is at a minimum, ergo consonance is at a maximum.

There is a reasonable probability that the musical scale developed will be somewhat in the abstract not conforming to the more accepted scales of music theory i.e. 12 Tone Equal Temperament tuning, in the western musical tradition.