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Ramsay - Duality as in the Greek Modes

among the Greeks on account of having symmetry in itself. The primitive scale was doubtless that which is the model of all major music; and our minor model is its dual, as Ramsay has shown, which in its genesis indicates the duality of all the rest of the notes, although it is not probable that the Greeks saw the musical elements in this light. It is remarkable and significant that in their modes the Greeks did not lift up the scale of Nature into different pitches, preserving its model form as we do in our twelve major scales, but keeping the model form at one pitch they built up their symmetrical tetrachords, allowing the larger and lesser tones of the primitive scale to arrange themselves in every variety of place, as we have shown in the table of tetrachord modes above. Without seeing the genetic origin of music's duality they were led to arrange the modes by symmetry, which is one of the phases of duality. Symmetry is duality in practice. It may not always be apparent how symmetry originates in Nature; but in music, the art of the ear, duality emerges in the genesis of the minor scale; in the true mathematical build of the major on the root of the major subdominant F, and the true relation of the minor to it in the inverse genesis descending from the top of the minor dominant B.
     There was, then, something of truth and beauty in the Greek modes as seen in the light now thrown upon them by the Law of Duality, at last discerned, and as now set forth in the genesis and wedlock of the major and minor scales. The probably symmetrical arrangement of the modes, all unwitting to them, is an interesting exhibition of the true duality of the notes, which may be thus set in view by duality lines of indication. We now know that B is the dual of F, G the dual of A, C the dual of E, and D minor the dual of D major. Now look at the Greek modes symmetrically arranged:

D EF G A BC D
C D EF G A BC     EF G A BC D E
A BC D EF G A     G A BC D EF G
F G A BC D EF     BC D EF G A B


Thus seen they are perfectly illustrative of the duality of music as it springs up in the genetic scales. The lines reach from note to note of the duals. [Scientific Basis and Build of Music, page 46]

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page 46

Created by Dale Pond. Last Modification: Monday October 19, 2020 07:20:35 MDT by Dale Pond.