The Weighted Scale

Amateur, you missed the subject 🙂

Anyway, I have never heard it 😵

I had read something, it is related to statistics 😉

I think it is related to a discussion about acoustics or things of this kind, but I don't know anything about it.

Dilettante wrote:

Does anyone know what the weighted scale is? What is it about? Is it useful to know?

If I'm not mistaken, John Blacking discusses it in his book "How Musical Are Humans"

http://www.libreriauniversitaria.it/musicale-uomo-blacking-john-universal/libro/9788875920272

Essentially, you remember well Eagle 😉

Thanks for the tips, I haven't quite grasped the issue yet... it seems to me that it's not something entirely unknown.

I seem to remember that weighted scales were used for SPL measurements. Practically speaking, it should be a curve that normalizes sound pressure levels into dBA if it is an A-scale or dBC if it is a C-scale. I don't remember the specific details of one or the other, but I remember that one of the two weighted the acoustic pressure at different frequencies in relation to the non-linearity of the human ear, which is much less sensitive to low frequencies. If you are interested, I can go deeper using some acoustic physics books...

If I am not mistaken, the weighted scale can also be called a gamut; I knew about Blacking, but there is a good treatment by Nattiez in an Einaudi book

In summary, if there are "priorities" in a system but an absence of rules, one way to observe a phenomenon is to use statistics as a medium.

He also gives a pleasant example with the melody of "Frère Jacques", I will try to report what I remember.

Melody: Do re mi do do re mi do mi fa sol … etc.

Statistically, which are the most used notes? In order:

do mi sol re fa la

This schematization can be enriched by marking the most frequent connections with arrows, thereby "counting" (and marking) which is the first note most used after DO, etc. (e.g., DO frequently goes to RE, etc.)

Dilettante wrote:

Is it useful to know?

An analysis in these terms could be used or rather, I have heard it proposed, to search for stylistic elements of a melodic profile or to derive information that can then be modified using the principle of variation.

I see a limit in the analysis of complex melodies because, by relying on statistics, one carries over the limits of that system itself, where small deviations are ignored because they are not relevant.

It can also be a fascinating discussion and perhaps it may come in handy for analyzing relatively simple melodic patterns.

Thank you everyone 😃

I didn't know her, how do you always manage to be so well-informed? 😠

Whatever you feel like asking, just type it into Wikipedia or Google and there you will find answers for almost....everything.

... yes, but first you need to know that a certain thing exists 😉

I'm a bit wary of wikis, they are only useful for a basic overview.... and on this subject, it doesn't seem like there is much, or am I wrong?