Alesis Coda User Guide - Page 14

Scale Tuning System

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Scale Tuning System A tuning system is the system used to define which tones, or pitches, to use when playing music. In other words, it is the number and spacing of frequency values used. The equal temperament is the most common musical scale used today for the tuning of pianos and other pianos of relatively fixed scale. One of the advantages of the equal-tempered scale is that it is the same in any musical "key", so that compositions may be freely transposed up or down without changing the musical intervals. Especially for piano, equal temperament is widely used and taken for granted, but throughout history composers have used several other scales to compose and perform before adopting the equal-tempered scale. This piano has been equipped with 6 scale tuning systems. Equal Temperament In twelve-tone equal temperament, which divides the octave into 12 equal parts, the width of a semitone (i.e., the frequency ratio of the interval between two adjacent notes) is the 12th root of two. There is a minute difference of the same amount between each two intervals. This is the default setting when Scale Mode is turned off. Pythagorean The Pythagorean tuning, named after the early mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras, is based on a stack of intervals called perfect fifths. It is particularly well suited to music which treats fifths as consonances, and thirds as dissonances. Pure Major & Pure Minor In music, just intonation or pure intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequencies of notes are related by ratios of small whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a pure or just interval. The major scale consists of just intonations especially for triad chords (chords consisting of a root, third, and fifth, from lowest to highest). Meantone The Meantone System is a musical temperament which is close to just intonation. This was used to tune pipe organs in 16th-Century Europe. These musical scales are based on the Pythagorean System. Werckmeister The Werckmeister temperament was named after organist and music theorist Andreas Werckmeister. This scale was created as an improvement on the Pythagorean scale. This temperament's adjusted spacing of intervals makes each tonality sound distinct. Kirnberger Developed in the second half of the 18th Century by Johann Kirnberger, this temperament is regarded as an improved version of Meantone temperament. 14

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Scale Tuning System
A tuning system is the system used to define which tones, or pitches, to use when playing
music. In other words, it is the number and spacing of frequency values used. The equal
temperament is the most common musical scale used today for the tuning of pianos and other
pianos of relatively fixed scale. One of the advantages of the equal-tempered scale is that it is
the same in any musical "key", so that compositions may be freely transposed up or down
without changing the musical intervals. Especially for piano, equal temperament is widely used
and taken for granted, but throughout history composers have used several other scales to
compose and perform before adopting the equal-tempered scale. This piano has been
equipped with 6 scale tuning systems.
Equal Temperament
In twelve-tone equal temperament, which divides the octave into 12 equal parts, the width of a
semitone (i.e., the frequency ratio of the interval between two adjacent notes) is the 12th root
of two. There is a minute difference of the same amount between each two intervals. This is
the default setting when Scale Mode is turned off.
Pythagorean
The Pythagorean tuning, named after the early mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras, is
based on a stack of intervals called perfect fifths. It is particularly well suited to music which
treats fifths as consonances, and thirds as dissonances.
Pure Major & Pure Minor
In music, just intonation or pure intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequencies of
notes are related by ratios of small whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a
pure or just interval. The major scale consists of just intonations especially for triad chords
(chords consisting of a root, third, and fifth, from lowest to highest).
Meantone
The Meantone System is a musical temperament which is close to just intonation. This was
used to tune pipe organs in 16th-Century Europe. These musical scales are based on the
Pythagorean System.
Werckmeister
The Werckmeister temperament was named after organist and music theorist Andreas
Werckmeister. This scale was created as an improvement on the Pythagorean scale. This
temperament's adjusted spacing of intervals makes each tonality sound distinct.
Kirnberger
Developed in the second half of the 18th Century by Johann Kirnberger, this temperament is
regarded as an improved version of Meantone temperament.