I recently learned that the wavelength of a note is half that of the same note one octave lower. Do the wavelengths of the notes in a chord have some sort of similarities? Is there another reason that the notes sound good together?
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Western music traditionally used simple fractional ratios of pitches to tune their notes. A major chord is made up of three notes – a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. The ratio of pitches between the major third and the root is 5:4. The ratio of pitches between the perfect fifth and the root is 3:2. The Ancient Greeks figured that these ratios of pitches would make the most pleasing harmony to the human ear, so that’s what forms the basis of our music system.
Of course modern music doesn’t use those exact ratios anymore, but the difference between pure intonation and equal intonation is a whole separate ELI5 topic.
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