Tuning Systems Theory Music

Sites which deal with tuning systems (historical and modern), just intonation, and theories of tuning, temperament, and harmelodics. In Baroque times the primary musical "experiments" were not really in melody, rhythm, or harmony, but in instrument building and tuning systems. Likewise, today the things which separate ambient music artists such as Tricky from experimental artists such as the Deep Listening Band or Harry Partch are in the depth to which experimental artists test new tuning systems.

• Pitch and Scale of the Great Highland Bagpipe - Describes proper tunings and scale construction for the Great Highland Bagpipe.
  
• Alternate Temperaments: Theory and Philosophy - Introduction to tuning systems, based on the Western cents system. Written by Terry Blackburn.
  
• Tantrum - Tool for the study of temperament anomalies.
  
• Historical Tunings on the Modern Concert Grand - Tradational tunings of the grand piano and Beethoven's specific tunings.
  
• Historical Tuning - Includes information on the differences between equal temperament and well temperament and why Bach rejected equal temperament and celebrated well temperament.
  
• Larpis.com - Previously unknown temperament found on the autograph title page of the "Well-Tempered Clavier"; published 2005. Includes explanations and links to scholarly articles.
  
• Keyboard temperament analyzer/calculator - Excel spreadsheet that analyzes keyboard temperaments: gives beat rates for tuning, and harmonic-tension charts in all keys.
  
• Justonic Tuning Inc. - Pitch Palette software tunes a microtunable synthesizer to just intonation, world scales, historic scales and user scales in real time.
  
• An Introduction to Historical Tunings - Discusses the development of tuning systems in Medieval Europe.
  
• Dictionary of Microtonal Music Theory - Dictionary of common terms used in just tuning and equal temperament style tunings.
  
• Musical Tunings and Temperaments - Color-coded descriptions of tunings and temperaments from the 9th Century through the 16th Century.
  
• Comparison of Temperaments - Table comparing various Western and Non-Western temperaments.
  
• Understanding Temperaments - Tunings used for harpsichords.
  
• The Development of Musical Tuning Systems - The historical development of musical tuning systems from ancient Greek origins to the development of equal temperament.
  
• Tuning by Ratios - This paper explores the use of simple ratios to tune musical intervals and chords. Included are a tutorial, a set of computer programs, and a re-tuned two-part invention by J.S. Bach.
  
• A Tour Up The Harmonic Series - Basic introduction to the Pythagorean circle of fifths and the physical basis for the need for alternative tuning systems.
  
• World Scale Depository - Construction of a reference center of scale measurements throughout the world.
  
• Pythagorean Tuning and Medieval Polyphony - Article by Margo Schulter written in 1998.
  
• The Argument for Equal Temperament - Fred Lerdahl's paper regarding the use of equal temperament over just tuning.
  
  

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