The Pierce 3579b scale is based on a chromatic scale having 13 equal steps in its octave (3:1 frequency ratio). In addition to the 3:5:7 and 5:7:9 chords which provide the harmonic basis of the scale, one can form other chords from notes of the chromatic scale. Listeners rated the degree of consonance of the 78 triads which can be formed from an octave range of the scale. Both musicians and untrained listeners perceived that chords were maximally dissonant when one or more of their components were within a critical bandwidth but there was some disagreement as to which chords were most consonant. We assess these results in view of two models of consonance. The same listeners made consonance judgments for a short musical composition derived from this scale, presented in different tunings (equal temperament, just intonation, or “out‐of‐tune”). All subjects agreed that the equal tempered version was most consonant but the ordering of the other tunings depended on musical training and on previous exposure to these nontraditional sounds.

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