Largest Tolerance over Average

In this sketch of a letter to a peer, Wilson points out his preference for evaluating temperaments by finding largest tolerance in the scale as opposed to averaging out. This focus on he worse case scenario of tuning makes sense in that the averaging of the others will not diminsh what stands outs.

Triplet Sets From The Basic Scale Tree.

TETRACHORAL TREE

TRIPLET SETS FROM THE SCALE TREE

This top diagram has been a part of the 'tres.pdf' document for years but it was only after finding the second in his notes do certain aspects become clear. Wilson has taken a trio of terms found in the scale tree and proceeds to multiply them to where they can be easily used to generate a scale tree contained within a 4/3. The beginning set is formed by an outer pair of fractions with the medient being the third term. The top diagram is an example of the first formula realized. In the bottom half we see he also adds up the diagonals which give us different terms to the classic fibonacci series generated by the classic tree. The method in which he determines what ratio each side converges on is unknown. It is possible he might have figured it out just by hand.

Stretched Pelog

Wilson's stretched Pelog tuning

 Here is a Stretched Pelog Tuning found in one of Wilson's notebooks. While not dated, it occurs between pages dated from late 1993. It seems to go through areas that others later have explored.

George Secor's mapping of Partch's Scale

George Secor's mapping on Partch's scale drawn by Erv Wilson

While not added to the Archives directly, The document Mapping Of Partch's Scale on Secor's Keyboard has been added to Secor's section of the Main Library. http://anaphoria.com/secor.html I provide this page as it includes related documents of which this keyboard drawings by Wilson provide an open door to how Partch's scale could be expanded to 72 or even how this layout provides a uniform fingering of Partch's scale.

Constant Structures

Wilson's note on Constant Structures to John Chalmers 1965

Here is one of Wilson's earliest mention of the subject of Constant Structures. This page is apart of a document looking at 3 22 tones scales. Thanks to John Chalmers for making this available sometime back from his collection that is still being archived.

Meta-Ptolemy [Some Collected Papers}

Chain of 7 tone scales within the 24 tone array in Wilson's Meta-Ptolemy

Wilson collected his papers on Meta-Ptolemy together. This is what is done here with some added notes http://anaphoria.com/metaptolemy.pdf The scale offers an interesting chain of  7 tones scales not unlike those we find on various African Ballophones and offer an exploration into like territory.  Composer Stephen Taylor has used this scale here. http://www.thesonicsky.com/music/microtonal-cartoon-cues/

Two Papers on Partch's Tuning

   Erv is responsible for showing Partch the possibility of inverting the Diamond of what later became the Quadrangularis Reversum. He also helped Partch construct this Marimba. Erv's drawings is a constant contribution throughout the second edition of Partch's Genesis of a Music . Something one used to his style of drawing becomes easy to pick out. A rare double flute from Bolivia found by Erv's brother was another gift he bestowed upon Harry which he  used prominently in Delusion of the Fury.
   Here are two documents just a few years later commenting on first Partch's use of 392 that he felt too much was being made of, and provides an explanation here. The second paper shows a comparison of Partch's 43 tone scale  to a 41 tone space. Like a similar example also found with Novaro's 7 limit diamond [1927] this lead to reinforce his observations of Moments of Symmetry and Constant Structures as "naturally occurring' tendencies in how people construct scales. The latter he defined as when any interval occurs in a tuning it will always be the same number of steps. He found Partch and Novaro both taking their Diamond structures and intuitively filling the space with as close of a constant structure solution possible. He spoke on more than one occasion how he observed Partch following his ear using many  near pitches to simpler ratios rather than sacrifice a musical inspiration or inclination.

Wilson-On Partch's Use of G 392

Wilson's comparison of Partch's scale with 41 ET