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Polynesian enharmonics

  • Writer: Amanda Riddell
    Amanda Riddell
  • Sep 24, 2025
  • 1 min read

It's not like every tapa contains those mysteries. Relational circles are how we theorise those micro-harmonies in the West, not just in my essay: those are typical charts. Therefore, ones that are similar to the Niuean example might indeed contain such intonational information. For example, you might associate those patterns with a particular element of the natural world around you, and that might have a pitch shape that underlies it, or you might discern them using those Farhat steps and the derivative microtones, as expressed in my essay. I'd say that those four-pointed compasses can be seen as the Oro-Oro hine octave cycle, so those are also a clue that we're looking at forms of music notation, even if they're typically associated with other properties (star charts, planting cycles).

 
 
 

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