Comment by exporectomy

A bit of a tangent, but what I always found confusing about music theory is which parts are arbitrary historical legacy and which are fundamental to human enjoyment of music. 12 notes in a scale? Their particular frequencies? That whole multiplying and dividing business? Why the letters are in the wrong order. Why have sharps and flats instead of just more letters? I always get stuck wondering how much of this is just a big ugly edifice and how much actually matters.