The Western musical scale, consisting of seven notes, can be traced back to various influences, with significant contributions from ancient Greek culture. The Greeks, particularly through the work of philosophers and mathematicians such as Pythagoras, explored the relationships between musical sounds and mathematical ratios. Pythagoras is famously associated with the concept of string lengths and their harmonic ratios, which laid the groundwork for understanding musical intervals.
Later, the development of the diatonic scale—the basis for Western music—which includes the notes of the major and minor scales, also emerged from these early mathematical explorations of sound. Over centuries, as music theory evolved, these Greek concepts were integrated into the musical practices of medieval Europe, ultimately leading to the establishment of the system we know today.
In summary, the culture that significantly contributed to the mathematical formulas that influenced our Western seven-note scales is primarily that of ancient Greece, with ongoing developments throughout the history of Western music.
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