wolf
Let an agent explain the wolf interval in tuning theory, relay its size in different temperaments and its historical role from music theory references, describe wolf tones on instruments, and distinguish the musical sense from the animal.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Understand What the wolf interval is.
Definition
Definition.
Definition
Definition.
- What is the wolf fifth, and why does it arise when twelve fifths do not close the circle? definition
- Is the question about the tuning interval, wolf tones on instruments or the animal? boundary
Sizes
Sizes by temperament.
Sizes
Sizes.
- How large is the wolf in Pythagorean, meantone and other tunings? measurement
- Which entry fits the specific temperament? action
History History.
Temperaments
Temperament history.
Temperaments
Temperaments.
- How did the wolf drive the move to well temperaments and equal temperament? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Practice
Historical practice.
Practice
Practice.
- How did keyboard players and composers avoid or exploit the wolf? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
Instruments Wolf tones.
Wolf tone
Wolf tones.
Wolf tone
Wolf tone.
- What causes wolf tones on cellos and violins, and how are they suppressed? provenance
- Which entry fits wolf tone? action
Acoustics
Acoustics.
Acoustics
Acoustics.
- How do beating and dissonance explain the howling sound? provenance
- Which entry fits consonance and dissonance? action
Context Today and culture.
Today
Today.
Today
Today.
- How do historically informed performers and electronic tuners handle the wolf today? provenance
- Which entry fits historically informed performance? action
Culture
Culture.
Culture
Culture.
- How has the wolf fifth been described in music writing and lore? provenance
- Which entry fits music theory? action
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Cross-cutting context
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- XCT
- Domain
- XCT.QTY
What it is Filled
In music, a harshly dissonant interval, especially the wolf fifth, that arises in tuning systems such as Pythagorean and meantone temperament when the twelve fifths of the circle do not close, leaving one fifth noticeably narrow or wide and producing beating that resembles howling, and by extension any interval or key that sounds out of tune in a given temperament; the wolf fifth motivated the development of well temperaments and equal temperament, and the name also applies to unwanted resonances in string instruments called wolf tones.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent explain the wolf interval in tuning theory, relay its size in different temperaments and its historical role from music theory references, describe wolf tones on instruments, and distinguish the musical sense from the animal.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Unclosed circle of fifths
- Comma accumulation
- Temperament dependent
- Historical driver of tuning reform
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Confuse the musical wolf interval with the animal or with a wolf tone on string instruments.
- Retune an instrument it does not own or has not been asked to tune.
- Present one temperament as the only correct way to tune.
Only with a human decision
- Retuning a historic or shared instrument, such as a church organ.
May
- Explain the wolf interval and why it arises in tuning systems.
- Compute interval sizes and show where the wolf falls in a given temperament.
Moral aspects Filled
- Historic instruments and tunings are cultural heritage worth keeping accurately.
- Musicians deserve accurate explanations of the tuning choices they inherit.
Who is affected
- Musicians
- Owners of historic instruments
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns the concept; it is held in common by musicians.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q224169 - registry parent class
related
- fifth - in registry terms, a badly tuned one
- meantone temperament - and Pythagorean tuning
- Pythagorean comma - accumulation
- equal temperament - spreading the comma
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.wolf
- Wikidata: Q996490 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q996490)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Pythagorean wolf fifth: about 678 cents - versus 702 pure
- quarter-comma meantone wolf: about 737 cents
- Pythagorean comma: about 23.5 cents
Plane XCT: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Dissonant fifth from an unclosed tuning circle
- Wolf fifth in Pythagorean and meantone tuning; wolf tones on strings
- The animal wolf is unrelated; equal temperament has no wolf
- Not a visible object; a howling dissonance.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- explain the interval
- relay sizes by temperament
- describe historical role
- distinguish from wolf tones and the animal
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Confusing the interval with wolf tones on instruments
- Confusing with the animal
- Misstating sizes across temperaments
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- No regulation; tuning conventions of historical performance
Context of use required Filled
- Not applicable; a tuning phenomenon.
- Pythagorean wolf fifth
- meantone wolf fifth
- wolf intervals in other tunings
- wolf tones on cellos and other string instruments as a related acoustic phenomenon
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q996490: wolf - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Wolf interval - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should wolf tone be a separate entry?
- How should music theory references be linked?
- How should the registry parent fifth be qualified?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q996490/spec.json