Bohlen-Pierce scale

[alistair]

Just heard for the first time in the Observer yesterday about the Bohlen-Pierce scale. The scale ends on a note three times the frequency of the base note (would that be high G if the base note was C?) and this range is divided into 13 equal intervals (with a ratio I guess of the thirteenth root of 3, as opposed to the twelfth root of 2 in the conventional scale).
There are lots of clips on YouTube of performances on instruments specially constructed to play in this scale, e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpZ5bdeVWoY which has a kind of klezmer feel to it.
Since it was only invented about thirty years ago, I guess there won't be much so far in the way of "traditional" music using this scale. I would imagine though that fiddlers could learn to use the Bohlen-Pierce scale without requiring a specially constructed violin.

[Jack Campin]

I guess the natural instrument to use for it would be a clarinet (which overblows at the twelfth). It would be quite easy to make a clarinet that played in that scale.

The samples I found on the web don't sound as bad as I expected.

What I'd like is one of the tenor recorders made in the 19-tone equally tempered scale by a research project at a London college a few years ago (they had extra holes and keywork beyond what a tenor recorder normally has). This is close to one of the Baroque meantone temperaments, and major thirds sound much better than they do in 12-tone equal temperament. The sample I heard (on a Radio 3 programme) was mostly duets, but it would be a natural on its own for accompanying singers in old Scots songs - the temperament would be fairly close to what Burns heard, but with the extra twist that you could do it in any key.