Newly tested bell pitches prove presence of chromatic scale in eleventh-century BCE China

The summit of a hill, referred to as Shiguzhai Hill in Hunan province, China, has yielded a total of seventeen bells from three pits. Such condensed finds have provided many interesting clues to our study of the histories of ancient music, acoustics, and bell casting. Ancient musicians and casters’ rationales for producing these bells, their methods for casting and grouping the bells, and the burial practices associated with them can be investigated. We have made a new attempt to test the pitches of bells that have not been thoroughly examined. Through testing bell pitches, we can use a series of new data to address the controversy regarding whether eleventh-century BCE musicians realized the existence of the B-tone and applied it in forming bell groups. Following an investigation of the pitch data, we can determine whether the Shiguzhai musicians knew the twelve consecutive semitones of the chromatic scale.