Note in an octave

[Richard Moody]

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> From: harvey <harvey@greenwood.net>
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: Note in an octave
> Date: Monday, November 08, 1999 7:45 PM
> 
> #2 daughter just asked me, "Dad, how many whole tones are in an octave"?
> 

There are seven whole tones comprising an octave.    How many tones are there in the
INTERVAL the octave.  Two.  There are five more whole tones in between. To play a
whole tone octave you will need to play seven notes. The question should have been
"How many whole tone INTERVALS are in the octave. Or "steps" as Keith  mentioned.
	 There are two types of Just whole tones, the Major Tone and the Minor Tone.  One
from two stacked Fifths dropped an Octave, the other a Minor Third below a Fourth.
9/8 and 10/9 respectivly. 9/8 gives more than a 2:1 octave, (23.46 cents), 10/9
less. (-105.57) (5th below 6th also gives 10:9)
 Further there are two types of tempered whole tones.  The Mean Tone, or
the note whose ratio is mean of the third, or the square root of the 5/4 Third,
(which gives less) and the equal tempered whole tone, or sixth root of two. Six of
these from the starting note will give an octave. 

	So   just  which "whole tone" did they   mean ? as Clark alluded to too. 

Never mind that if you try to write it out and if musicians could intone it
perfectly you will end up with a dim3 as a smaller interval than the already small
last major second.
 
I'll take the million, thank you...---ric