if Western music is based on twelve tones per octave, what is the equivalent in Eastern music, such as Indian or Japanese?

Question

The Western scales are mathematical in nature, based on harmonics that occur in nature. So if Eastern music is NOT like this, how can those other approaches be summarized?

In: 1

Answer 1

Indian music typically uses 7 notes (svaras) per octave (saptak), japanese typically uses 5 or 12 notes per octave

>The Western scales are mathematical in nature, based on harmonics that occur in nature. So if Eastern music is NOT like this, how can those other approaches be summarized?

They are like this, but the language used to describe musical theory is very different, and the approach to and application of musical theory is also different. This can mean its less essential or difficult for an outsider to recognize.

There are also musical traditions that use a lot of scales spanning only a portion (like a quarter) of an ocatave

This is a very rough explanation, but I think it answers your question