I'm planning to build a very simple instrument. It will have fixed notes (like a lyre or a glockenspiel). So the number and tuning of the notes needs to be decided from the outset.

I'd like to keep it as small as possible, while still having the capacity to play simple tunes on it without it being so limited as to be annoying.

Some of the possibilities I'm considering:

One octave, chromatic (13 notes)
One octave, diatonic (8 notes)
Two octaves, diatonic (starting on tonic) (15 notes)
Two octaves, diatonic (starting on dominant) (15 notes)

There are other possibilities, like pentatonic, or something with a range of a twelfth, or with only some accidentals available.

What do you all think would be sufficiently versatile to be fairly useable, while still keeping the number of notes as low as possible? I'd like to keep it at around a dozen notes if possible, but could extend it a little if the benefits of a few extra notes outweighed the added hassle involved.

T.

My preference would be two diatonic octaves starting on the dominant because of the number of pieces starting from the dominant rising to the tonic

id have said a chromatic octave from F to F

From my experience of handbell ringing, a diatonic twelve offers quite a lot of possibilities, especially if you can add a few extra semitones. Our set is in F, with two extra B naturals, an E flat and a top D, for example, and we can play most carols and folk tune arrangements with them.

Depends how imaginitive the player is - unptiched percussion instruments can be fabulous in the right hands.

However, if you're looking at it from a melodic point of view and don't want to be concerned with creating funky rthyhms all the time then I would go for a mode - Aeolian (A to A white notes only), Dorian (D to D, white notes only) or Mixolydian (G to G, white notes only) are the easiest to work with and give you a more unusual sound than major/minor and with a smaller number of notes than chromatic scales. You might find it useful to add a note below the tonic as well e.g. F G A B C D E F G for the mixolydian.

Sorry if I've got the names wrong - it's a while since I had anything to do with the theory behind modes - or if putting 'white notes only' causes offence: I know you can start each mode on any note and it's the intervals between notes which gives their distinctive sound, but in case anyone hasn't had dealings with modes before, calling them 'white note scales' seems to be a good starting place.

Id go for B C D E F G A B C D E F G,, ie an octave and a fifth from C , with the lower leading note of b
If any extras, Id put in the F#'s (of course I would!)

Just to clarify - it's definitely going to be a pitched instrument. I realise my original post may not have made it clear that I have a specific concept in mind, it's just a question of deciding on which notes to include.


Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far. Any others welcome still, but I'm leaning towards a twelfth or so of diatonic at the moment.

T.

Yes, I understood your concept but obviously wasn't clear myself. What I meant was that if you're into complicated rhythms then you can get away with fewer notes - 5 or 6 notes could be perfectly satisfactory if you're going to play jazzy or unusual rhythms. If you're going to be playing something more straightforward then you'll probably need more notes to create interest.

It also depends on whether your brain fills in the harmonies for you when you play a melody, or if you're intending to play chords with (or instead of) the melody, or if you want the melody to carry all the interest. If your brain does the harmonies for you then you might be satisfied with a simple tune on just a few notes. If you're going to play more than one note at a time you obviously need a wider range to give you a choice of harmonies. Likewise, if it's a pure melody you want then you'll probably need a wide range to give you sufficient scope to make it interesting.

P.S. in advance - I really started out to say just this, but then the post got away from me...there was a discussion in the Viva Voice or maybe Teachers' forum a while back about the surprisingly limited range of notes that young children can sing. It might be worth looking that up.

I was thinking exactly the same thing, considering something small and portable to use when telling stories.

Please send me one when you've got it all working!

Things that occurred to me:

Does "simple" include tolerance of things such as indifferent tuning? I was thinking pentatonic, in the interests of simplicity and versatility, and also wondering about including a Japanese technique for raisng or lowering pitch - very high frets which allow the player to press down firmly "behind" the fret to shorten the string and raise the pitch (koto, some types of lute), and "moveable" bridges which are really frets that can be moved up and down the body of the instrument to re-tune the instrument in a different key (koto).

There's also a "philosopher's zither" - a monochord zither called an ichigenkin in Japanese or yi xian qin in Chinese with a peg to adjust string length (and pitch) and two thimble-like plectra - one to further adjust pitch, and the other to sound the string with. So the pitches are entirely what you make them.

The thing I like about these oversized plectra is that you can crash down on the string or rap the instrument, giving you another range of sounds. How about a "washboard" serration somewhere - the speed at which you pass the plectrum or stick over the serrations seems to create a slight change in pitch as well as rhythm.

Keep us posted on this fascinating topic please.