Yamaha PSR-S650 Owner's Manual - Page 22

1. Voices - Playing the Keyboard - Scale Tuning By default, this keyboard scale is set to Equal Temperament-the same tuning as with any acoustic piano. However, the setting can be changed to any other scale according to the music genre or music style you want to play. Selecting a Scale You can select various scales for playing in custom tunings for specific historical periods or music genres. Press and hold the [FUNCTION] button for longer than a second to call up the Scale select display, then rotate the dial to select the desired Scale. The setting can be reset to the initial default value by pressing the [-/NO] and [+/YES] buttons simultaneously. NOTE • This setting does not affect the Drum Kit Voices. NOTE • Press the [EXIT] button to return to the Main display. Hold for longer than a second Preset Scale types EQUAL PURE MAJOR, PURE MINOR PYTHAGOREAN MEAN-TONE WERCKMEISTER, KIRNBERGER ARABIC1, ARABIC2 The pitch range of each octave is divided equally into twelve parts, with each half-step evenly spaced in pitch. This is the most commonly used tuning in music today. These tunings preserve the pure mathematical intervals of each scale, especially for triad chords (root, third, fifth). You can hear this best in actual vocal harmonies-such as choirs and a cappella singing. This scale was devised by the famous Greek philosopher and is created from a series of perfect fifths, which are collapsed into a single octave. The 3rd in this tuning are slightly unstable, but the 4th and 5th are beautiful and suitable for some leads. This scale was created as an improvement on the Pythagorean scale, by making the major third interval more "in tune." It was especially popular from the 16th century to the 18th century. Handel, among others, used this scale. This composite scale combines the Werckmeister and Kirnberger systems, which were themselves improvements on the mean-tone and Pythagorean scales. The main feature of this scale is that each key has its own unique character. The scale was used extensively during the time of Bach and Beethoven, and even now it is often used when performing period music on the harpsichord. Use these tunings when playing Arabic music. NOTE • "(Edited)" will appear in the display if you have created your original scale using the "Scale Tune" function (page 23). 22 Owner's Manual