On the seven scale notes

[WillL at fieldschool.com]

Date	5/9/96
Subject	On the seven scale notes
>From	WillL
To	Pynchon List

On the seven scale notes

I too took note of the correspondence between the seven colors in the rainbow
and the seven notes of a musical scale.  But, of course, just as others have
pointed out that the seven colors exist only as arbitrary divisions with an
infinite number of colors existing between the cracks of ROY G BIV, the seven
"notes" of a musical scale are also arbitrary.

In many cultures, you'll find a pentatonic scale (like our American "blues"
scale):  five tones.  In India, musicians routinely deal in "quarter tones":
notes that would fall between the "half tone" divisions of our piano (a note,
for example, between C and C#).

Thing is, GRAVITY'S RAINBOW repeatedly deals with the idea that the seven tones
of the Western scale are a kind of "elect" oppressing the preterite (in C major,
foax, that's them white keys lording it over the black keys). In the great
Beethoven/Rossinni debate, one of the arguments against Rossinni is that he
doesn't represent a democracy of the TWELVE tones in the chromatic scale, always
favoring those diatonic scale tones.  Our GR narrator, however, has a much more
flexible sense of democracy, not willing to limit himself to a mere twelve tone
octave, but favoring instruments that hardly favor any set tones -- most notably
you kazoo (how do ya get a C on that?  Uh, just blow, man.)  I think more
significantly, when Slothrop finally finds that harmonica in the stream, it's
reeds are all softened up and, finally, he able to bend notes "away from
official frequencies," playing the blues just like Charlie Parker in the episode
where the harmonica takes its famous dive.  GR's subversive instruments don't
honor the 7 tones, the 12 tones or any set of tones other than what a person is
"just feeling."

Somewhere in all this there's something smart to say about the difference
between analog and digital technology, and calculus too.  But for me, the
rainbow has always had a crucial music/sound link, and I think it connects to
the book's important themes of preterite/elect along the lines I've suggested. 
And now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

-- Will Layman