# Why twelve notes?

Twelve fifths nearly line up with seven octaves, which makes twelve a neat place to stop. Other cultures divide the octave differently, and each choice makes some intervals easy and others hard.

Connects to:
- [Twelve notes](https://mapideas.org/i/mu_twelve)
- [Continued fractions](https://mapideas.org/i/mu_contfrac)
- [The Pythagorean comma](https://mapideas.org/i/mu_comma)

Source: https://mapideas.org/i/q_mu_twelve · open on the map: https://mapideas.org/#q_mu_twelve