13edo

13edo, or 13 equal divisions of the octave, is the equal tuning featuring steps of (1200/13) ~= 92.308 cents, 13 of which stack to the octave 2/1. It does not approximate many small prime harmonics well at all, and the approximations it does have do not fit very well in a temperament (they fit better in a neji), so DR-based interpretations may be preferred among 13edo users.

13edo's greatest melodic strength is its proximity to 12edo, whose most important effect is providing an oneirotonic (5L3s, LLsLLsLs) MOS which is a compressed diatonic. A functional system for 13edo oneirotonic is provided below.

Tuning theory

Prime harmonic approximations

Approximation of prime harmonics in 13edo

Harmonic		2	3	5	7	11	13	17	19	23
Error	Absolute (¢)	0.0	+36.5	-17.1	-45.7	+2.5	-9.8	-12.6	-20.6	+17.9
	Relative (%)	0.0	+39.5	-18.5	-49.6	+2.7	-10.6	-13.7	-22.3	+19.4
Steps (reduced)		13 (0)	21 (8)	30 (4)	36 (10)	45 (6)	48 (9)	53 (1)	55 (3)	59 (7)

Edostep interpretations

13edo's edostep functions in the 2.5.11.13 subgroup as:

• 26/25 (the interval between 5/4 and 13/10)
• 55/52 (the interval between 11/8 and 13/10, and between 5/4 and 13/11)
• 128/121 (the interval between 11/8 and 16/11)

Harmonic series approximations

13edo approximates the following harmonic series chord well (x indicates notes that are harder to approximate):

34:36:38:40:42:x:47:x:52:55:58:61:x:68

Making an over-17 13edo neji thus requires you to choose those three notes.

One functional system for 13edo

The following system has been developed by Jaimbee and Inthar.

13edo's melodically strongest scale is the oneirotonic MOS (preserving the diatonic property of having at least 2 semitones), so it behooves us to find harmonies that work for it.

Basic chords

The most basic chords in this functional harmony system are:

• Major triad 0-4-7\13: A compressed major triad that sounds desaturated and somewhat bittersweet. Somewhat dubiously +1+1. Oneirotonic provides only two of these triads, so alterations are somewhat frequently used to get a major triad. The major triad has the following important tetrad supersets:
  • 0-2-4-7\13: Reinforces the quasi-DR effect with an extra tone; approximately +1+1+2.
  • 0-4-7-10\13: A compressed dominant tetrad; approximately +1+1+1.
  • 0-4-7-12\13
• Minor +1+2 triad 0-3-8\13: A bright and brooding if somewhat hollow-sounding minor triad. Approximately 17:20:26. The important supersets are:
  • 0-3-8-10: Approximately +1+2+1
  • 0-3-8-12
  • 0-3-8-11
  • 0-3-8-15
  • 0-3-8-12-15: A concatenation of the minor +1+2 and major +1+1 triads.
• 0-5-9\13: A +1+1 triad and a compressed 2nd inversion major triad. Approximately 13:17:21.
  • 0-5-7-9
  • 0-5-9-12
  • 0-5-9-12-15
  • 0-5-7-9-12-15-17