Shi'er lü

Shi'er lü (Chinese: 十二律; pinyin: shí'èr lǜ; Wade–Giles: shih2-êrh4 lü4; lit. '12 pitches'; Mandarin pronunciation: [ʂɻ̩˧˥ aɚ˥˧ ly˥˩]) is a standardized gamut of twelve notes used in ancient Chinese music.[1] It is also known, rather misleadingly, as the Chinese chromatic scale; it was only one kind of chromatic scale used in ancient Chinese music. The shi'er lü uses the same intervals as the Pythagorean scale, based on 3:2 ratios (8:9, 16:27, 64:81, etc.). The gamut or its subsets were used for tuning and are preserved in bells and pipes.[2]

Unlike the Western chromatic scale, the shi'er lü was not used as a scale in its own right; it is rather a set of fundamental notes on which other scales were constructed.[3]

The first reference to "standardization of bells and pitch" dates back to around 600 BCE, while the first description of the generation of pitches dates back to around 240 CE.[3]

Note names

Traditional Chinese Simplified Chinese Pinyin English Ratio Audio
黃鐘 黄钟 Huáng Zhōng tonic/unison 1 : 1 Playⓘ
大呂 大吕 Dà Lǚ semitone 37 : 211 Playⓘ
太簇 太簇 Tài Cù major second 32 : 23 Playⓘ
夾鐘 夹钟 Jiá Zhōng minor third 39 : 214 Playⓘ
姑洗 姑洗 Gū Xǐ major third 34 : 26 Playⓘ
仲呂 中吕 Zhòng Lǚ perfect fourth 311 : 217 Playⓘ
蕤賓 蕤宾 Ruí Bīn tritone 36 : 29 Playⓘ
林鐘 林钟 Lín Zhōng perfect fifth 3 : 2 Playⓘ
夷則 夷则 Yí Zé minor sixth 38 : 212 Playⓘ
南呂 南吕 Nán Lǚ major sixth 33 : 24 Playⓘ
無射 无射 Wú Yì minor seventh 310 : 215 Playⓘ
應鐘 应钟 Yìng Zhōng major seventh 35 : 27 Playⓘ

There were 12 notes in total, which fall within the scope of one octave. Note that the mathematical method used by the ancient Chinese could never produce a true octave, as the next higher frequency in the series of frequencies produced by the Chinese system would be higher than 880 hertz.

See the article by Chen Ying-shi.[4]

See also

Further reading

  • Reinisch, Richard (?). Chinesische Klassische Musik, p. 30. Books On Demand. ISBN 978-3-8423-4502-7.

Sources

  1. ^ Joseph C.Y. Chen (1996). Early Chinese Work in Natural Science: A Re-examination of the Physics of Motion, Acoustics, Astronomy and Scientific Thoughts, p. 96. ISBN 962-209-385-X.
  2. ^ Chen (1996), p.97.
  3. ^ a b Needham, Joseph (1962/2004). Science and Civilization in China, Vol. IV: Physics and Physical Technology, p.170-171. ISBN 978-0-521-05802-5.
  4. ^ 一种体系 两个系统 by 陈应时 (Yi zhong ti-xi, liang ge xi-tong by Chen Ying-shi of the Shanghai Conservatory), Musicology in China, 2002, Issue 4, 中国音乐学，2002，第四 期
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