ABSTRACT
The principle of local consonance describes a relationship between the timbre of a sound and a tuning (or scale) in which the timbre will sound most consonant. The principle answers two complementary questions. Given a timbre, what scale should it be played in? Given a scale, how can appropriate timbres be chosen? The ability to answer such questions will likely impact the way we design new musical instruments. This chapter constructs examples of scales appropriate for a variety of timbres and explains various consonance related phenomena in terms of the principle of local consonance. Noninteger ratios of the carrier and modulating frequencies give nonharmonic timbres that are typically relegated to percussive or bell patches because they sound dissonant when played in traditional 12-tone harmonies. The principle of local consonance suggests that such sounds can be played more harmoniously in scales which are determined by the timbres themselves.
