# Semantic system

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The **semantic system** is based on a [microtonal](/source/Microtonal_music) [musical scale](/source/Scale_(music)) tuned in [just intonation](/source/Just_intonation), developed by [Alain Daniélou](/source/Alain_Dani%C3%A9lou).

For Daniélou, the subtleties of the [intervals](/source/Interval_(music)) of music of [oral traditions](/source/Oral_tradition) cannot be expressed using the [equal temperament](/source/Equal_temperament) [tuning](/source/Musical_tuning) system of 12 [notes](/source/Musical_note) per [octave](/source/Octave), which has been the prevalent system in Western culture for around two centuries. This "artificial" musical scale was developed as a compromise, to standardise musical instruments by reducing the number of notes they could play, but it also reduced the possibilities of expression for both composers and musicians.

Daniélou draws attention to the fact that a musical culture that adopts a system of [equal temperament](/source/Equal_temperament) thereby sacrifices the possibility of expressing all but the most general significations inherent in a musical language. »[1]

After many years spent researching and leading experiments in the world of Indian [modal music](/source/Mode_(music)), Daniélou published a book entitled [Sémantique Musicale](/source/S%C3%A9mantique_Musicale) in which he proposes one of the most elaborated microtonal scales of just intonation.

According to him, the human ear is able to identify and classify pitches by using [binary](/source/Binary_number), [ternary](/source/Ternary_numeral_system) and quinary frequency [ratios](/source/Ratio) as a reference point. This theory gives rise to the unequal division of the octave into 53 notes, with [frequency](/source/Frequency) ratios composed solely of products of powers of the [prime numbers](/source/Prime_number) 2, 3 and 5.

## Underlying theory

### Alain Daniélou and ethnomusicology

Main article: [Alain Daniélou](/source/Alain_Dani%C3%A9lou)

[Alain Daniélou](/source/Alain_Dani%C3%A9lou) was an ethnomusicologist[2] who, after studying singing with [Charles Panzéra](/source/Charles_Panz%C3%A9ra) and composition with [Max d'Ollone](/source/Max_d'Ollone), settled in India. He dedicated his work to the study of [Hindu music](/source/Hindu_music) and [religion](/source/Hinduism). Following a long collaboration with the [University of Santiniketan](/source/Visva-Bharati_University) in Bengal, [Tagore](/source/Rabindranath_Tagore) offered him the position of head of the music department, which was in charge of broadcasting the poet's songs. He settled in [Varanasi](/source/Varanasi) in 1935, where he was appointed director of the department of musicology of [Banaras Hindu University](/source/Banaras_Hindu_University) in 1949. He was director of the [Adyar Library](/source/Adyar_Library) and Research Centre in [Madras](/source/Chennai) from 1954 to 1956. He was a member of the [French Institute of Pondicherry](/source/French_Institute_of_Pondicherry) from 1957 to 1958, of the [École française d'Extrême-Orient](/source/%C3%89cole_fran%C3%A7aise_d'Extr%C3%AAme-Orient) in 1959 and the [Unesco](/source/Unesco) [International Music Council](/source/International_Music_Council) in 1960. Danielou founded an International Institute for Comparative Music Studies first in [Berlin](/source/Berlin), then in [Venice](/source/Venice) in 1969, and was director of both of them.[3]

He also created in 1961 the [Unesco Collection of Traditional Music of the World](/source/Unesco_Collection), for which he was responsible for twenty years.[4]

Alongside personalities such as the violinist [Yehudi Menuhin](/source/Yehudi_Menuhin) and the sitar player [Ravi Shankar](/source/Ravi_Shankar), to whom he was close,[5][6] he played a decisive role in the recognition of classical [Indian music](/source/Music_of_India) not as traditional [folk music](/source/Folk_music), which it had been considered as until then, but as a truly savant art, just as much as Western music.

### Reference works

In 1926, at the age of 19, Daniélou received a scholarship for a research trip to Algeria to study [Arabic music](/source/Arabic_music). During this time he became aware of the limits and, to a certain degree, the aberration of a system that divides the [octave](/source/Octave) into 12 equal [semitones](/source/Semitone),[7][8][9] and does not therefore enable musicians to interpret Arabic music, nor most types of music other than Western music. He took up the cause in the footsteps of a number of illustrious predecessors such as [Zarlino](/source/Gioseffo_Zarlino), [Werckmeister](/source/Andreas_Werckmeister), [Mercator](/source/Nicholas_Mercator), Holder and [Helmholtz](/source/Hermann_von_Helmholtz). His discovery of [Indian music](/source/Music_of_India) a few years later strengthened his commitment to this approach.

He is the author of a number of [reference works](/source/Semantic_System#Selective_bibliography) on the subject. In *La [Sémantique Musicale](/source/S%C3%A9mantique_musicale)* he writes, "The human brain immediately classifies factors 2, 3 and 5, and certain of their multiples and products, even quite high ones, yet this mechanism ceases to operate when faced with [prime numbers](/source/Prime_number) above 5. Each interval of the scale we can consider as 'natural' (since it is based on ratios of whole numbers), has its own associated emotion or feeling."

These [intervals](/source/Interval_(music)) generate an emotional reaction within humans that is not only precise, but apparently universal. Daniélou goes on to say, "The Hindu theory of *shrutis*, or intervals, and classes of *shrutis* and *jatis*, assigns a specific expressive content to each interval and organises them into categories that can easily—and only—be explained by the nature of their numerical ratio to the 2-3-5 cycles."

Moreover, the simpler the fraction ratio of the [interval](/source/Interval_(music)) (i.e. the less it contains multiples or products of the prime factors 2, 3 and 5), the greater "emotional charge" the interval carries.

The work of Daniélou has influenced many composers, including [Lou Harrison](/source/Lou_Harrison),[10] as well as other musicologists, such as the Canadian [Mieczyslaw Kolinski](/source/Mieczyslaw_Kolinski). In *Le chemin du Labyrinthe* he writes :« *In 1991, the [Cervo](/source/Cervo_(Italie)) music festival (near Genoa) awarded me a prize in recognition of my work in the fields of ethnomusicology, philosophy, psychology, psycho-acoustics, linguistics and cybernetics, providing fundamental impetus for new music in the second half of the twentieth century.* »[11]

## Semantic system

For the last two centuries, Western musicians have been using imperfect musical intervals: those of the [equal temperament](/source/Equal_temperament) of 12 [notes](/source/Musical_note) per octave. While they have been used in the composition of a considerable amount of music, these intervals were a mathematical compromise that enabled the development of a certain category of acoustic, then electronic instruments, that some feel do not account for the finesse of our perceptual system.

Historically, it was the philosopher and mathematician [Leibniz](/source/Gottfried_Wilhelm_Leibniz) who developed, in the 17th century, the theory of "subconscious calculation", according to which music was defined as "the pleasure the human soul experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting".

The Pythagorean [Jean-Philippe Rameau](/source/Jean-Philippe_Rameau) followed a similar route when he established a connection between our perception of musical intervals and mathematics, and stated that according to him melody stems from harmony, through which it can "allow us to hear the numerical ratios enshrined within the universe".

More recently, a large number of composers such as [Harry Patch](/source/Harry_Patch), Harrison, [Terry Riley](/source/Terry_Riley), [La Monte Young](/source/La_Monte_Young), [Ben Johnston](/source/Ben_Johnston_(composer)), [Wendy Carlos](/source/Wendy_Carlos), [David B. Doty](/source/David_B._Doty) and [Robert Rich](/source/Robert_Rich_(musician)) have employed a variety of [microtonal](/source/Microtonal_music) [scales](/source/Scale_(music)) in [just intonation](/source/Just_intonation).

In a similar approach to those of Leibniz and [Rameau](/source/Jean-Philippe_Rameau), Daniélou was deeply invested in the study of musical intervals, having studied [Indian music](/source/Music_of_India) and its subtleties for a large part of his life. He developed a [musical scale](/source/Scale_(music)) of 53 notes, only using ratios of the [prime](/source/Coprime_integers) factors 2, 3 and 5, which according to [Fritz Winckel](/source/Fritz_Winckel) "shed a whole new light on intervals".

### Five-limit tuning

The semantic system includes the notion of [five-limit tuning](/source/Five-limit_tuning) (or five-limit just intonation)—which refers to the fact that among all the [whole numbers](/source/Natural_number) that form its ratios, it only uses only products of prime numbers up to five (therefore factors two, three and five, in keeping with Daniélou's theory concerning our perception of musical intervals).

However, because of their remarkable micro-coincidences, [harmonic](/source/Harmonic) 7 (there are 14 occurrences of this interval in the S-53 scale) and harmonics 17 and 19, if only to mention these three, are naturally present in various configurations, in particular within the Indian *shrutis*, and these intervals are therefore also part of the semantic system.

### 22 Indian *shrutis*

The 22 *shrutis* represent the basic set of intervals required to perform of all the Indian [modes](/source/Mode_(music)) (or [ragas](/source/Ragas)), of both northern and southern [India](/source/India). Their frequency ratios are often expressed in the form of [fractions](/source/Fraction_(mathematics)) of [five-limit tuning](/source/Five-limit_tuning), i.e. those that only use prime numbers 2, 3 or 5. Daniélou's just intonation system offers an extension of the 22 Indian *shrutis*, allowing it to include every one of them.

### Syntonic comma

Still known as the *[pramana](/source/Pramana) [shruti](/source/Shruti)*, the [syntonic comma](/source/Syntonic_comma) is the smallest of the intervals that separate the Indian *shrutis*. Its ratio is 81/80 and the scale of 22 *shrutis* includes 10 of them. Whilst the [comma](/source/Comma_(music)) has been suppressed in the different historical Western [temperaments](/source/Musical_temperament) and in our present-day equal temperament, it is of great importance in Indian music, and in all just intonation systems, since it expresses, for each [chromatic](/source/Diatonic_and_chromatic) degree, the subtle emotional polarities of harmonics 3 and 5. These 12 commas are larger than the other commas by around a third of a comma, and are found on the borders of the different chromatic notes of the semantic-53 scale. In five-limit tuning, their ratio is complex, measuring 20000 / 19683, or 3125 / 3072. In seven-limit tuning, they can be more simply defined as the [septimal comma](/source/Septimal_comma), with a ratio of 64/63.

### Quarter tones

In everyday language, these [notes](/source/Musical_note) are located between two [semitones](/source/Semitone) and they are essentially heard in [Arab](/source/Arabic_music) and [Greek music](/source/Music_of_Greece) throughout [Europe](/source/Europe) and [Eastern countries](/source/Eastern_world), in [Turkey](/source/Turkey), [Persia](/source/Persia), as well as in [Africa](/source/Africa) and in [Asia](/source/Asia). They were also used in tempered [scales](/source/Scale_(music)) by certain European [microtonal](/source/Microtonal_music) composers during the 19th century.[citation needed]

In traditional music, [quarter tones](/source/Quarter_tone) result above all from more or less equal divisions of [minor thirds](/source/Minor_third), [fourths](/source/Perfect_fourth) or [fifths](/source/Perfect_fifth), rather than of [semitones](/source/Semitone) themselves. Contrary to what can often be read, there are no [quarter tones](/source/Quarter_tone) amongst the Indian [shrutis](/source/%C5%9Aruti). Their extension in the Semantic scale does however include a significant number of [quarter tones](/source/Quarter_tone), resulting mostly from the product of a [comma](/source/Comma_(music)) and a disjunction, i.e. 7 [kleismas](/source/Kleisma). Since disjunctions are 12 in number, there are thus 24 of this type, with [ratios](/source/Ratio) most commonly of 250/243 in [5-limit tuning](/source/Five-limit_tuning), or of 36/25 in [7-limit tuning](/source/7-limit_tuning).

### Schisma

The [5-limit just intonation](/source/Five-limit_tuning) [schisma](/source/Schisma) ([ratio](/source/Ratio) 32 805 / 32 768) is a micro-coincidence of approximately an eleventh of a [comma](/source/Comma_(music)) (1,95372 [cent](/source/Cent_(music))), found for example between different versions of the first [shruti](/source/Shruti) (the limma, or [chromatic](/source/Diatonic_and_chromatic) [semitone](/source/Semitone)) in certain evening and morning [ragas](/source/Raga): for instance, it is clear that in the [Todi (morning) raga](/source/Todi_(raga)), the [harmonic](/source/Harmonic) path taken to reach the [minor second](/source/Semitone#Minor_second) is that of ratio 256/243, whilst in the [harmonic](/source/Harmonic) context of the [Marva raga](/source/Marva_(raga)) (evening), it is 135/128. The [Todi](/source/Todi_(raga)) harmony is extremely minor, whilst the [Marva raga](/source/Marva_(raga)) has an extremely major harmony, yet their difference in pitch is, by the standards of current musical practice, insignificant.

Two different [notes](/source/Musical_note) of the same [schisma](/source/Schisma) are considered by Indians as one same [shruti](/source/%C5%9Aruti), and are played with one same key on each version of the Semantic [keyboard](/source/Musical_keyboard). For this reason, in [5-limit tuning](/source/Five-limit_tuning), many notes on the Semantic have an undefined [ratio](/source/Ratio) between two different possible expressions. For its current [interval](/source/Interval_(music)) selections, in-depth studies of the Semantic system have enabled its developers to obtain the utmost precision in its deviations, so that for each of its notes, the [ratios](/source/Ratio) proposed are those most coherent with the system as a whole.

### Semantic kleismas

Though never found between two successive [notes](/source/Musical_note) of the Semantic 53-note [scale](/source/Scale_(music)), the [kleisma](/source/Kleisma), a coincidence of around a third of a [comma](/source/Comma_(music)), is nevertheless omnipresent within the Semantic system. The [kleisma](/source/Kleisma) is the natural difference between the last note of a series of 6 [minor thirds](/source/Minor_third) 6/5 and the third harmonic of the starting note (i.e. a fifth above the [octave](/source/Octave)). Its ratio in [5-limit](/source/Five-limit_tuning) is therefore 15 625 / 15 552.

However, there are several simpler [ratios](/source/Ratio) for different kleismas of around one third of a [comma](/source/Comma_(music)), that prove more appropriate for dividing the [syntonic comma](/source/Syntonic_comma) 81/80 into three harmonic [intervals](/source/Interval_(music)): for example the [septimal kleisma](/source/Septimal_kleisma) 225/224, or the 17-limit kleisma 256/255. One relatively simple harmonic division of the [syntonic comma](/source/Syntonic_comma) 81/80 is for example 16000 : 16065 : 16128 : 16200, which combines three different kleismas: 3213/3200; 256/25; 225/224.

In the Semantic 53-note [scale](/source/Scale_(music)), the kleisma is in reality the difference between a disjunction and a [comma](/source/Comma_(music)), and we invariably find the difference of a [kleisma](/source/Kleisma) between two [intervals](/source/Interval_(music)) comprising the same total number of [comma](/source/Comma_(music)) + disjunctions, but different by their number of disjunctions, depending on their position in the [scale](/source/Scale_(music)).

With its perfectly balanced distribution of [commas](/source/Comma_(music)) / disjunctions, for the same sum of [commas](/source/Comma_(music)) + disjunctions, each [interval](/source/Interval_(music)) of the Semantic-53 scale can only have one possible kleismic variation: the Semantic-53 [scale](/source/Scale_(music)) [interval](/source/Interval_(music)) table[12] indicates the kleismic alternative of each of its intervals, with their ratios in [5-limit](/source/Five-limit_tuning) and [7-limit](/source/7-limit_tuning) versions.

Finally, 41 [commas](/source/Comma_(music)) (of 3 kleismas) + 12 disjunctions (of 4 kleismas) separate the 53 [notes](/source/Musical_note) of the Semantic [scale](/source/Scale_(music)), generating together a total of 105 [intervals](/source/Interval_(music)) (not including their schismic variations), which are part of a global structure of 171 kleismas per [octave](/source/Octave). If we approach them from the angle of whole numbers of kleismas, the 171st of the [octave](/source/Octave) is therefore the simplest logarithmic unit allowing us to measure the [intervals](/source/Interval_(music)) of the Semantic system.

Given that the [notes](/source/Musical_note) of the Semantic [scale](/source/Scale_(music)) were generated from a series of [fifths](/source/Perfect_fifth) (or inversely, a series of [fourths](/source/Perfect_fourth)), we can determine the kleismic values of each of the [intervals](/source/Interval_(music)) of the system by multiplying the value in kleismas of the [fourths](/source/Perfect_fourth) or the [fifths](/source/Perfect_fifth) by [whole numbers](/source/Natural_number).

A [fifth](/source/Perfect_fifth) (3/2) comprises 100 [kleismas](/source/Kleisma) and its [octave](/source/Octave) complement, a [fourth](/source/Perfect_fourth) (4/3) comprises 71.

Therefore, two [fifths](/source/Perfect_fifth), for example, reach beyond the [octave](/source/Octave) by one [major tone](/source/Major_second#Major_and_minor_tones) (9/8), which comprises two times 100 kleismas minus one [octave](/source/Octave) (171 kleismas) = 29 kleismas.

Inversely, 16/9, which is the product of two [fourths](/source/Perfect_fourth), comprises two times 71 = 142 kleismas.

The [major third](/source/Major_third) (factor 5) of the schismatic [temperament](/source/Musical_temperament) used in the Semantic system is the equivalent of a series of 8 [4ths](/source/Perfect_fourth): 8 times 71 – 3 times 171 (3 [octaves](/source/Octaves)) = 55 kleismas.

A [perfect major sixth](/source/Major_sixth) (5/3) can be obtained by adding a [fourth](/source/Perfect_fourth) and a [major third](/source/Major_third): 71 + 55 = 126 kleismas, etc.

The values of the Indian [shrutis](/source/%C5%9Aruti) are as follows:

- a [syntonic comma](/source/Syntonic_comma) (81/80) = 3 kleismas;
- a lagu (25/24) = 10 kleismas;
- a limma (256/243 or 135/128) = 13 kleismas.

In total 10 [commas](/source/Comma_(music)) + 5 lagus + 7 limmas = 30 + 50 + 91 = 171 kleismas

### 53 commas

After a first cycle of 12 [notes](/source/Musical_note) generated by a series of 12 [fourths](/source/Perfect_fourth) (or symmetrically 12 [fifths](/source/Perfect_fifth)), the most notable following cycle is a series of 53 [fourths](/source/Perfect_fourth) (or [fifths](/source/Perfect_fifth)), which produces a division of the [octave](/source/Octave) into just 2 similar [interval](/source/Interval_(music)) sizes, distributed in the most balanced manner (7 limmas and 5 apotomes with 12 [notes](/source/Musical_note), 41 [commas](/source/Comma_(music)) and 12 disjunctions with 53 [notes](/source/Musical_note)). Although the dimensions of [commas](/source/Comma_(music)) and disjunctions are similar, as [Alain Daniélou](/source/Alain_Dani%C3%A9lou) explained, these two types of [commas](/source/Comma_(music)) cannot be confused and the Semantic system cannot therefore be likened to a [temperament](/source/Musical_temperament) of 53 equal [commas](/source/Comma_(music)), of which the [major thirds](/source/Major_third) and [perfect major sixths](/source/Major_sixth) in particular are much more approximate.

On the semantic Daniélou-53 screen [keyboard](/source/Musical_keyboard) with its hexagonal keys, the yellow lines indicate the positions of the disjunctions amongst the [commas](/source/Comma_(music)) : crossing this line implies a jump of one disjunction (of 4 [kleismas](/source/Kleisma)) instead of one comma (of 3 [kleismas](/source/Kleisma)).

### Semantic system tuning

Number Note Ratio Cents Interval 0 C 1/1 0 Unison 1 C+ 81/80 21,506 Pramana shruti, syntonic comma 2 C++ 128/125 41,059 Diesis, small quartertone 3 Db− 25/24 70,672 5-limit Lagu 4 Db 135/128 92,179 Major limma, 1st shruti 5 Db+ 16/15 111,731 Diatonic semitone, apotome 6 Db++ 27/25 133,238 Zarlino semitone 7 D−− 800/729 160,897 High neutral 2nd, Dlotkot 8 D− 10/9 182,404 Minor whole tone 9 D 9/8 203,910 Major whole tone, 9th harmonic 10 D+ 256/225 223,463 Double apotome 11 D++ 144/125 244,969 Low semifourth 12 Eb− 75/64 274,582 Low minor third 13 Eb 32/27 294,135 3-limit minor third 14 Eb+ 6/5 315,641 5-limit minor third 15 Eb++ 243/200 337,148 Double Zalzal (54/49)^2 16 E− 100/81 364,807 Double minor tone 17 E 5/4 386,314 5th harmonic major third 18 E+ 81/64 407,820 3-limit major third 19 E++ 32/25 427,373 Supermajor third, Daghboc 20 F−− 125/96 456,986 Hypermajor third 21 F− 320/243 476,539 Biseptimal slendroic fourth 22 F 4/3 498,045 3-limit natural fourth 23 F+ 27/20 519,551 Fourth + pramana shruti 24 F++ 512/375 539,104 Fourth + diesis, Zinith 25 F#− 25/18 568,717 Major third + minor tone 26 F# 45/32 590,224 Diatonic tritone, 11th shruti 27 F#+ 64/45 609,776 High tritone, 12th shruti 28 F#++ 36/25 631,283 Double minor third 29 G−− 375/256 660,896 Narayana, reverse Zinith 30 G− 40/27 680,449 Fifth minus pramana 31 G 3/2 701,955 3rd harmonic perfect fifth 32 G+ 243/160 723,461 Fifth plus pramana 33 G++ 192/125 743,014 Low trisemifourth 34 Ab− 25/16 772,627 Low minor sixth, double 5/4 35 Ab 128/81 792,180 3-limit minor sixth 36 Ab+ 8/5 813,686 5-limit minor sixth 37 Ab++ 81/50 835,193 Double Zalzal 38 A− 400/243 862,852 Double Daghboc 39 A 5/3 884,359 5-limit major sixth, 16th shruti 40 A+ 27/16 905,865 3-limit major sixth 41 A++ 128/75 925,418 Supermajor sixth 42 Bb−− 125/72 955,031 Reverse semifourth 43 Bb− 225/128 976,537 Low minor seventh 44 Bb 16/9 996,090 3-limit minor seventh 45 Bb+ 9/5 1017,596 5-limit minor seventh 46 Bb++ 729/400 1,039,103 Low neutral seventh 47 B− 50/27 1,066,762 Reverse Zarlino semitone 48 B 15/8 1,088,269 Major seventh, 15th harmonic 49 B+ 256/135 1,107,821 High major seventh, 21st shruti 50 B++ 48/25 1,129,328 Reverse 5-limit Lagu 51 C−− 125/64 1,158,941 Triple major third 52 C− 160/81 1,178,494 Octave minus pramana 53 C 2/1 1,200,000 Octave

## Work of reference

Several instruments were built on [Alain Daniélou](/source/Alain_Dani%C3%A9lou)'s request. The system he developed belongs to the family of [just intonation](/source/Just_intonation) [scales](/source/Scale_(music)), also sometimes called "natural" [scales](/source/Scale_(music)). This means that the [intervals](/source/Interval_(music)) on which the [scale](/source/Scale_(music)) is based are expressed in the form of [ratios](/source/Ratio), composed of [whole numbers](/source/Natural_number) with regards to both the [numerator and the denominator](/source/Fraction_(mathematics)), thus creating harmonic [ratios](/source/Ratio) between all the [notes](/source/Musical_note) of the global system, in this case 53 per [octave](/source/Octave).

This [scale](/source/Scale_(music)) has the particularity of highlighting [harmonics](/source/Harmonic) 2, 3 and 5, and their combinations. The intervals created by these three factors have, according to [Alain Daniélou](/source/Alain_Dani%C3%A9lou), the power to generate within the listener certain feelings and emotional reactions that are not only precise but also, apparently, universal. These two specific qualities; bringing together [5-limit tuning](/source/Five-limit_tuning) [just intonation](/source/Just_intonation) [intervals](/source/Interval_(music)) and carrying an expressive content, can be found in the [Hindu music](/source/Hindu_music) theory with its 22 [shrutis](/source/Shruti).

### Martenot–Daniélou keyboard

In 1936, [Alain Daniélou](/source/Alain_Dani%C3%A9lou) worked alongside [Maurice Martenot](/source/Maurice_Martenot), the famous inventor of the "[ondes](/source/Ondes_Martenot)" that bear his name, with whom he built his first [keyboard](/source/Musical_keyboard), which was tuneable and displayed interval frequencies. He patented it the following year.[13] The instrument is on display at the [Musée de la Musique](/source/Cit%C3%A9_de_la_Musique#Mus.C3.A9e_de_la_Musique) in [Paris](/source/Paris).

### Shruti Venu

A number of years later, during his travels in [India](/source/India), he designed a craft-built instrument in [Varanasi](/source/Varanasi) in 1942, which involved the use of a considerable number of bicycle wheel spokes.

He then build a series of small bellow [harmoniums](/source/Pump_organ) called Shruti Venu, of which one, built at the [University of Visva-Bharati](/source/Visva-Bharati_University) was kept and was restored in 2016 by [Klaus Blasquiz](/source/Klaus_Blasquiz).

### S52

In 1967, [Alain Daniélou](/source/Alain_Dani%C3%A9lou) designed a new electronic instrument, the S52. To build it he called on [Stefan Kudelski](/source/Stefan_Kudelski) from [Lausanne](/source/Lausanne), [Switzerland](/source/Switzerland), the inventor and builder of the [Nagra](/source/Nagra), the famous luxury portable tape player.

[Kudelski](/source/Stefan_Kudelski) entrusted his son André with the project, a young electronics engineer, and Claude Cellier, electronics engineer and musician. This new instrument, which was based exactly on the system presented in the book [Sémantique Musicale](/source/S%C3%A9mantique_Musicale) was highly elaborated from a technical point of view, and although it had a few shortcomings, it nevertheless enabled Alain Daniélou to advance with his theory inspired from the Indian model, and to test its psychoacoustic applications.

The prototype was presented in Paris in 1980, namely at the [UNESCO](/source/UNESCO) International Music Council and the [IRCAM](/source/IRCAM) (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique / Research and Acoustic/Music Coordination Institute), and afterwards in [Bordeaux](/source/Bordeaux), [Berlin](/source/Berlin), [Rome](/source/Rome), etc.

Christened as "[Shiva](/source/Shiva)'s organ" by the journalist [Jean Chalon](/source/Jean_Chalon), the instrument aroused a great deal of interest not only in the field of [microtonal music](/source/Microtonal_music), but also amongst music-therapy specialists and in non-European music. [Sylvano Bussotti](/source/Sylvano_Bussotti), who had until then never included electronic instruments in his works, became highly interested in the project, and wrote a piece for the instrument, which was played by the pianist Mauro Castellano and directed by the conductor Marcello Panni in a work called "La Vergine ispirata".

### Semantic Daniélou-36

It was not until 1993 that the idea of an entirely digital instrument came into being, which went by the name of the "Semantic", christened by the composer [Sylvano Bussotti](/source/Sylvano_Bussotti) in reference to the [Alain Daniélou](/source/Alain_Dani%C3%A9lou)'s work [Sémantique Musicale](/source/S%C3%A9mantique_Musicale).

On [Alain Daniélou](/source/Alain_Dani%C3%A9lou)'s request, it was developed by [Michel Geiss](/source/Michel_Geiss), an electronics engineer, musician and specialist in electronic instrument design, who at the time was working with [Jean Michel Jarre](/source/Jean_Michel_Jarre).

The semantic, later renamed the Semantic Daniélou-36 to avoid confusion with the 2nd version, the Semantic Daniélou-53, contains as its name indicates 36 [intervals](/source/Interval_(music)). These 36 [intervals](/source/Interval_(music)) were the ones [Alain Daniélou](/source/Alain_Dani%C3%A9lou) considered the most essential among the 53 of his [scale](/source/Scale_(music)).

Instead of adapting the widely used [MIDI](/source/Musical_Instrument_Digital_Interface) [piano](/source/Piano) [keyboard](/source/Musical_keyboard) controls, [Michel Geiss](/source/Michel_Geiss) suggested that they use a button [keyboard](/source/Musical_keyboard) with [accordion](/source/Accordion)-type [keys](/source/Key_(instrument)). The first advantage being that this would take up less room, allowing a large number of [notes](/source/Musical_note) in a small space, which was a considerable advantage for a scale containing 36 notes per [octave](/source/Octave). Secondly, arranging the [notes](/source/Musical_note) on a [piano](/source/Piano)-type [keyboard](/source/Musical_keyboard) would inevitably have evoked the [equal tempered](/source/Equal_tempered) [scale](/source/Scale_(music)).

[Alain Daniélou](/source/Alain_Dani%C3%A9lou) validated this option, and [Michel Geiss](/source/Michel_Geiss) managed the project's development. He entrusted the scale and sound programming work to Christian Braut, computer music specialist and author of the reference book "The Musician's Guide to MIDI".[14] Other collaborators in the project were Jean-Claude Dubois, who developed the operating system, and Philippe Monsire, who conceived the futuristic design of the instrument. The Semantic-36 was delivered a few years later, however [Alain Daniélou](/source/Alain_Dani%C3%A9lou) died on 27 January 1994 without having seen the finalised instrument.

The instrument possesses two button [keyboards](/source/Musical_keyboard), taken from the MIDY 20 Cavagnolo (MIDI command [keyboards](/source/Musical_keyboard) for [accordionists](/source/Accordion)). Each of them has 120 [keys](/source/Key_(instrument)), which gives the player access to just over 6 [octaves](/source/Octave), instead of just over 2 [octaves](/source/Octave) for the classic 76-note [keyboards](/source/Musical_keyboard). These two [keyboards](/source/Musical_keyboard) are connected to an electronic sound module, or more precisely, the [expander version](/source/Sound_module) of the [Kurzweil](/source/Kurzweil_Music_Systems) [K2000](/source/Kurzweil_K2000) [sampler](/source/Sampler_(musical_instrument)), the K2000R, reprogrammed in [just intonation](/source/Just_intonation) by Christian Braut, according to [Alain Daniélou](/source/Alain_Dani%C3%A9lou)'s Semantic [scale](/source/Scale_(music)).

In 2006, [Igor Wakhévitch](/source/Igor_Wakh%C3%A9vitch) composed the album "Ahata-Anahata" ("the audible and the inaudible"),[15] which was entirely performed on the Semantic Daniélou-36.

In 2007, for the European tour "Semantic Works", a series of concerts involving the instrument were given in *[Le Thoronet Abbey](/source/Le_Thoronet_Abbey)*,[16] the *Teatro Palladium* in [Rome](/source/Rome), the *Teatro Fondamente Nuove* in [Venice](/source/Venice) and the *Maison des Cultures du Monde* (World Cultures Institute) in [Paris](/source/Paris), by [Jacques Dudon](/source/Jacques_Dudon)'s *Ensemble de Musique Microtonale du Thoronet* (Thoronet Microtonal Music Ensemble).

In 2013, [Michel Geiss](/source/Michel_Geiss) developed a greatly improved version of the Semantic Daniélou-36, while conserving the external appearance of the original instrument. The second version made use of recent developments in the world of electronic music and included internal sound-generating software. This major technological update enhanced the instrument by offering the possibility of producing richer, more varied and more expressive sounds, whilst maintaining remarkably precise tuning (to a thousandth of a [cent](/source/Cent_(music))). The new version also boasted a [ribbon controller](/source/Synthesizer#Fingerboard_controller) for fine [pitch](/source/Pitch_(music)) variations.

In 2025, the Alain Daniélou Foundation donated the instrument to the [Swiss Museum and Center for Electronic Musical Instruments](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMEM).

### Semantic Daniélou-53

Developed by Christian Braut, [Jacques Dudon](/source/Jacques_Dudon) and Arnaud Sicard (from UVI/Univers Sons), upon request of the FIND Foundation (India-Europe Foundation for New Dialogues), the Semantic Daniélou-53 is the first of the Semantic instruments that integrates the entire [Daniélou](/source/Alain_Dani%C3%A9lou) scale. As its name suggests, it includes 53 [intervals](/source/Interval_(music)) and offers 72 [scales](/source/Scale_(music)) (or tunings).

Released in 2013, using UVI Workstation technology it is presented in the form of a [virtual instrument](/source/Software_synthesizer), which is available for free download for [MacOS](/source/MacOS) and [Windows](/source/Microsoft_Windows).

The Semantic Daniélou-53 can be run on the screen simply by connecting the "hexagonal" [keyboard](/source/Musical_keyboard), composed of 74 colour [keys](/source/Key_(instrument)) (seven columns of 9 [keys](/source/Key_(instrument)), one column of 10 [keys](/source/Key_(instrument)), the fourth, an extra [key](/source/Key_(instrument)) on the left), or using [MIDI](/source/Musical_Instrument_Digital_Interface).

## Selective bibliography

- Daniélou, Alain (1943). *Introduction to the Study of Musical Scales*. Benares: A. Bose, Indian Press LTD. ISBN 0-8364-2353-4.
- Daniélou, Alain (1995). [*Music and the Power of Sound*](https://archive.org/details/musicpowerofsoun0028dani). Rochester, Vermont, USA: Inner Traditions International. ISBN 0-89281-336-9.
- Daniélou, Alain (2003). *Traditional Music in Today's World*. Varanasi, India: Indica Books. ISBN 8-18656-933-2.
- Daniélou, Alain (1971). [*The Situation of Music and Musicians in the Countries of the Orient*](https://archive.org/details/situationofmusic0000dani). Firenze: Léo S. Olschki.
- Daniélou, Alain (1968). *Northern Indian Music*. London: Barrie and Rockliff.
- Daniélou, Alain (1958). "Tableau comparatif des intervalles musicaux" (in French). *Collection Indologie*. Institut français d'indologie. [ISSN 0073-8352](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0073-8352)
- Daniélou, Alain (1987). *Traité de musicologie comparée* (in French). Éditions Hermann. ISBN 978-2705612658.
- Daniélou, Alain (2004). *Origines et pouvoirs de la musique* (in French). Paris, Pondicherry: Kailash Éditions. ISBN 978-2842680909.
- Daniélou, Alain (1978). *Sémantique musicale* (in French). Éditions Hermann. ISBN 270561334X.

## References

1. "Sémantique musicale: Essai de psychophysiologie auditive by Alain Daniélou. Review by: Adriaan D. Fokker, Sr., Ethnomusicology, Vol. 13, No. 2 (May, 1969), pp. 371-374". [JSTOR 850159](https://www.jstor.org/stable/850159)

1. ["Dictionnaire de la musique, Biographie"](http://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/musdico/Daniélou/167110) (in French)

1. Pouillon, François (2012). [*Dictionnaire des orientalistes de langue française, nouvelle édition revue et augmentée, François Pouillon, 1073 pages, éditions Karthala, 2012*](https://books.google.com/books?id=UVPhEUNg7CcC&q=Institut+de+musique+compar%C3%A9e+danielou+berlin&pg=PA271) (in French). ISBN 9782811107901.

1. ["UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music of the World"](https://ich.unesco.org/en/collection-of-traditional-music-00123)

1. ["Yehudi Menuhin talks about Alain Daniélou"](https://www.alaindanielou.org/what-they-have-said/lord-yehudi-menuhin/). 10 March 2011.

1. ["Alain Daniélou The Way to the Labyrinth"](https://www.visionsdureel.ch/en/film/alain-danielou-the-way-to-the-labyrinth)

1. Small, Christopher (31 July 1998). [*Musicking: The Meanings of Performing and Listening, Christopher Small, 1998*](https://books.google.com/books?id=1lOx9nr0aHkC&q=alain+danielou&pg=PA128). ISBN 9780819522573.

1. Sarath, Edward W. (2 April 2013). [*Improvisation, Creativity, and Consciousness: Jazz as Integral Template for Music, Education, and Society, by Edward W. Sarath, 2014*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Moz4ayhrfy0C&q=alain+danielou&pg=PA104). ISBN 9781438447230.

1. Cox, Christoph & Warner, Daniel (27 July 2017). [*Audio Culture, Revised Edition: Readings in Modern Music, by Christoph Cox*](https://books.google.com/books?id=ihcqDwAAQBAJ&q=alain+danielou&pg=PA442). ISBN 9781501318375.

1. Alves, Bill & Campbell, Brett (10 April 2017). [*American Musical Maverick, Lou Harrison, 2017*](https://books.google.com/books?id=E7m8DgAAQBAJ&q=dani%C3%A9lou). ISBN 9780253026439.

1. Daniélou, Alain (2015). *Le chemin du Labyrinthe*. Éditions L'Âge d'Homme. p. 337. ISBN 978-2825143391.

1. ["Intervals of the Semantic scale"](https://www.semantic-danielou.com/semantic-danielou-53/user-manual-semantic-danielou-53/intervals-table-of-the-semantic-scale/)

1. ["Martenot Daniélou patent"](https://www.semantic-danielou.com/fr/archives-medias/photo/clavier-pour-ondes-martenot-maurice-martenot-alain-danielou-1937/). 12 September 2016.

1. Braut, Christian (1994). [*The musician's guide to MIDI, Christian Braut, 1994*](https://books.google.com/books?id=d651nQAACAAJ). ISBN 9780782112856.

1. ["Igor Wakhévitch official website"](https://www.igorwakhevitch.com/)

1. ["Semantic Works, Abbaye du Thoronet, 2007"](https://vimeo.com/183020460). 16 September 2016.

## External links

- [Official web site of Alain Danielou (English)](https://www.alaindanielou.org/)
- [Official web site of Semantic Danielou (English)](https://www.semantic-danielou.com//)
- [Ragisma Mandala — a Semantic Daniélou-53 musical piece written by Jacques Dudon](https://vimeo.com/227729607)
- [Alain Daniélou speaks of Semantic S52](https://soundcloud.com/find-org-in/sets/semantic-dani-lou-alain-dani)
- [Semantic Microtonal Music International Competition](https://www.semantic-danielou.com/semantic-danielou-53/semantic-microtonal-music-international-competition/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Semantic system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_system) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_system?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.