Is it like the visible spectrum and we just can’t physically hear anything else?
What determines the dividing line between each note?
I know this is more than one question but I just don’t understand the science behind music
In: Physics
The simple answer is that the western tonal system is fairly arbitrary! So there’s actually twelve notes, but a given “key” only uses seven, like you think. This system was what western music kind of solidified into over time, and the core of it is the relationship between the notes in an octave. There are a lot of keys that are collections of seven of the twelve notes arranged differently, but they share various chords and harmonies. It’s these relationships between the notes that form the foundation of probably the most ubiquitous tonal system in the world.
But that doesn’t mean it’s the only one. Nothing is stopping other musicians from creating alternate tonal systems. We have historical examples of this happening. It’s just not very popular, because it’s much easier to learn and work within the octave system than to create and pioneer your own.
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