Microtuning: Which tables do we "need"?

[Howard]

Hi gang

I've been wanting to compile a bunch of "useful" microtuning tables, to be included as presets in u-he synths. Every time I tried, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number available. Impossible to judge.

Does anyone here have some tips - or better, a good all-round collection with fewer than e.g. 50?

BTW: I guess the presets should include Werckmeister, Kirnberger, Vallotti-Young etc.

Also need to think about different key-centers...

[3ee]

A couple of months back I picked and converted a collection of interesting and/or useful tunings from the large scalla collection.

They are now in .fnv (for IL Harmor) ... but if the list seems interesting to you I can find the original .tun files (hopefully most of them) and file them into a zip for you to check out and go from there.

https://app.box.com/s/m2lau2h1yyttjytatuhn

Cheers"

[Arrested Developer]

Hi,
i think, adding some "ecmelic" scales would be quite useful.
(i.e. scales in which the tuning use the frequency of some of the higher overtones, i.e.
the partials (3), 5, 7,9, 11, 13, 15 etc.
If it doesn't hurry too much, i could send some of these in the beginning of next week.

[aMUSEd]

I often use the Partch scales

[Arrested Developer]

One scale that i would appreciate very much is a well tempered tuning that - according to Herbert Anton Kellner - Bach may have used for the WTC. It's fantastic for different kind of sounds.

Kellner tuning:

(values are relative to an equal tempered tuning:


c =0, c# =-2.9 , d = -3.9 , d# = -1.9; e =-7.8; f = +2.0; f# = -3.9; g = -1.9; g# =-1.9; a = -5.8; a# =-1.9 b = -5.9

[Aroused by JarJar]

This is an important one to have:

0: 1/1 0.000 unison, perfect prime
1: 9/8 203.910 major whole tone
2: 5/4 386.314 major third
3: 11/8 551.318 undecimal semi-augmented fourth
4: 3/2 701.955 perfect fifth
5: 13/8 840.528 tridecimal neutral sixth
6: 7/4 968.826 harmonic seventh
7: 2/1 1200.000 octave

It's just the first seven rooted harmonic partials, and the acoustic foundation of a great deal of music over the last 150 years, Romantic and Jazz. Sounds great, of course.

Acoustic scale or Overtone scale (or Lydian Dominant).

[Jafo]

I'd recommend using Scala technology -- why reinvent the wheel? The Scala project has an archive with several hundred scales, which is probably overkill (but still awesome) -- there are several methods of just intonation with merely the major scale, for example. Going further afield, you have several Baroque tunings (including variations on well tuning). Eastern European tunings are also easy with it, not to mention all sorts of Wendy Carlos weirdness. Or some Harry Partch magic. Very nice!

You can also do interesting things, such as putting 22 (or more!) steps in an octave. Anybody feel like some hot raga on rags action? Maybe with some cool Balinese cymbals in the background?

But as far as scales which are wisely useful, a few major, minor, and chromatic just intonations are certainly necessary. Well-tempered tuning as well. But that just scratches the surface if you want to experiment -- it's hardly sufficient for even historical European music.

[coquillo]

Hi gang

I've been wanting to compile a bunch of "useful" microtuning scales, to be included as presets in u-he synths.

There is a difference between temperment and scale..

[Ch00rD]

Anybody feel like some hot raga on rags action? Maybe with some cool Balinese cymbals in the background?

I like to use tuning files for playing ragas, yeah. But I play them in the style of pundit Charanjit Singh - no Balinese cymbals, just the TR-808 one. And Diva in Jupiter mode, of course.

[Aroused by JarJar]

Another historically important scale that people also have guitars fretted to, and you can easily play an acoustic instrument of flexible pitch along with (violin, sax, voice, etc.) would be 1/3 comma meantone. That's no different in real life from 19-tone equal temperament, very practical.

Complete 1/3-comma meantone scale
|
0: 1/1 0.000 unison, perfect prime
1: 63.504 cents 63.504
2: 126.069 cents 126.069
3: 189.572 cents 189.572
4: 125/108 253.076 semi-augmented whole tone
5: 6/5 315.641 minor third
6: 379.145 cents 379.145
7: 442.649 cents 442.649
8: 505.214 cents 505.214
9: 25/18 568.717 classic augmented fourth
10: 36/25 631.283 classic diminished fifth
11: 694.786 cents 694.786
12: 758.290 cents 758.290
13: 820.855 cents 820.855
14: 5/3 884.359 major sixth, BP sixth
15: 947.862 cents 947.862
16: 1010.428 cents 1010.428
17: 1073.931 cents 1073.931
18: 1136.496 cents 1136.496
19: 2/1 1200.000 octave

It differs from 19-equal by a maximum of something like .01 cents, i.e., same damn thing. Before the West went firmly into the direction of 12-tET, this was one of the considered possibilities. 19-key harpsichords were fairly common until the mid 17th century. I guess some were tuned to 1/3 comma meantone and others to 19 tones of the 31 tones of a complete 1/4-comma meantone system.

[Aroused by JarJar]

One thing that would save people a lot of headache- put the root note or frequency and the number of tones in the tuning in the title of the .tun file!

7_Tone_Overtone_Scale_A440.tun
13_Tone_Grunting_Orifice_Tone_Structure_666Hz.tun

etc.

and specifiy if it's non-octave:

11_Divisions_Of_Phi.tun

[Sendy]

I like to compose on the overtone series sometimes, using pitchbend to make it follow chords where neccecary.

[pdxindy]

Can Zebra accept tuning files that create more than 12 notes per octave? Or can you just tweak the exact pitch of each of the 12?

[Howard]

They are now in .fnv (for IL Harmor) ... but if the list seems interesting to you I can find the original .tun files (hopefully most of them) and file them into a zip for you to check out and go from there."

Yes, please

[Howard]

i think, adding some "ecmelic" scales would be quite useful.
(i.e. scales in which the tuning use the frequency of some of the higher overtones, i.e.
the partials (3), 5, 7,9, 11, 13, 15 etc. If it doesn't hurry too much, i could send some of these in the beginning of next week.

No hurry, but yes please - with that Kellner one