Musical Scales in Central Africa and Java: Modeling by Synthesis

The author’s research on the tuning and scale systems of the Central African xylophone and Javanese gamelan has departed from previous Western ethnomusicological studies in these areas. Rather than relying on acoustical measurement as a primary source of data, his team has adopted an interactive approach involving the participation of Central African and Javanese musicians, who work with researchers to demonstrate their tuning processes using synthesizers and MIDI systems. The author presents results of this experimentation and explains the inconsistencies of previous research in terms of differing cultural concepts of scale.