Harry Partch's 43-tone scale

The 43-tone scale is a just intonation scale with 43 pitches in each octave invented and used by Harry Partch.

Related Topics:
Just intonation - Octave - Harry Partch

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It's somewhat ironic that Harry Partch became so associated with his 43-tone scale, because the number 43 is more or less arbitrary. In fact, the first of Partch's "four concepts" is

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:The scale of musical intervals begins with absolute consonance (1 to 1) and gradually progresses into an infinitude of dissonance, the consonance of the intervals decreasing as the odd numbers of their ratios increase.

Related Topics:
Intervals - Consonance - 1 to 1 - Dissonance - Ratios

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Nevertheless, almost all of Partch's music is written in the 43-tone scale, and although most of his instruments can play only subsets of the full scale, it's useful as an all-encompassing framework. If an interval isn't found in Partch's 43-tone scale, it probably isn't that important.

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