[Smt-talk] Early account of beats

[Steve Haflich]

JAY RAHN <jayrahn at rogers.com> wrote:

   Since at least as early as the 4th to 2nd centuries BCE in Greece and
   China, theorists would have occasion to describe interference effects
   between the tones of, e.g., a Pythagorean major-3rd interval.

I have no historical citations to add, but the above statement raises a
question.  All the classical Greek theory I can remember is couched in
terms of a monochord.  But beats between two tones cannot be experienced
with a MONOchord.

Did the Greek focus on the monochord as the chosen platform for
theoretical description of tuning simply preclude description of beats?

-- 
Steven M. Haflich <smh at franz.com>
Unaffiliated