Re: [linux-audio-user][OT] tempered tuning WAS: guitar tuner ?

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Subject: Re: [linux-audio-user][OT] tempered tuning WAS: guitar tuner ?
From: Jason (hormonex_AT_yankthechain.com)
Date: Tue Oct 23 2001 - 10:42:39 EEST


I actually like tempered tuning, it has an off kilterness that I like.
Never mind the fact that MIDI for a pure tuning system would be nearly
impossible. At least I don't want to work out the algorithms that would be
required to allow for modulation.
 On 22 Oct 2001, Krzys Majewski wrote:

> Thanks! Given a tuning fork (or a piece of software that I'm still
> looking for..) this is indeed an improvement over my current tuning
> method (5th-7th fret harmonics). Well-temperedness (or the lack of it)
> really is a pain in ass. Why couldn't we have come up with a more
> mathematically robust scale?
>
> -chris
>
> Jason <hormonex_AT_yankthechain.com> writes:
>
> > On Mon, 22 Oct 2001, [iso-8859-1] Jörn Nettingsmeier wrote:
> >
> > > [off-topic]
> > >
> > > Krzys Majewski wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Anyone got a guitar tuner that works? I'm actually going to use it for
> > > > an electric bass.
> > >
> > > yeah, i got a good one. dead cheap, needs no batteries and very
> > > precise. it's called Ears(tm).
> > I have that too! It's a great piece of embedded systems design.
> > But there is a more accurate tuning algorithm than the one Mr.
> > Nettingsmeier
> > describes. BUy an 'e' tuning fork, they're a little bit harder to find but
> > they can be had. use it to tune the 1st (high E) string, and then match
> > the 12th fret harmonic of the 6th (low E) string. Now fret the 4th (D)
> > string at the second fret (an E) and tune that note to the 12th fret
> > harmonic of the 1st string. Now fret the 2nd string (B) at the third fret
> > (D) and tune that note to the 12th fret harmonic of the fourth string. Now
> > fret the 3rd string at the 7th fret (D) and tune that note to the the 12th
> > fret harmonic of the 4th string. now compare the third string harmonic at
> > the 12th fret to the first string fretted at the third fret. The harmonic,
> > if you've tuned everything closely, should be ever so slightly flat of the
> > fretted note. This is correct. Now, tune the 12th fret harmonic of the 5th
> > (A) string to the 3rd string fretted at the second fret. The guitar, if it
> > is intonated properly, is now in as correct a tune as is possible.
> >
> > The reason this method of tuning is preferable to the simpler and more
> > commonly found methods is simple. The Guitar is by it's nature not a very
> > well tempered instrument. When you tune strictly to harmonics, as in the
> > more common "beat frequency" method, you are not actually tuning the notes
> > as they will be played on a fretted instrument. That method of tuning
> > works fine for fretless instruments, because the player can make the
> > proper adjustments for variations in pitch depending on the key of the
> > moment. However, any tempered instrument like the guitar is inherently
> > compromised, and by tuning using the method I've just described, you bring
> > the instrument into tune with itself. The result is that chords sound less
> > out of tune, and you will find it easier to play along withother tempered
> > instruments.
> >
> > My name is Jason, and I am on a mission to end out of tune guitar playing.
> >
> >
> > > seriously, unless you need one to tune on a noisy stage, you're much
> > > better off with your ears and a pitchfork.
> > > strike the fork and hold it over the pickup, it will give you a nice
> > > loud a', which you can compare to the overtone in the 12th fret of
> > > the a string. listen for beats and turn until they disappear. for
> > > the other strings, compare 5th fret overtone on lower string with
> > > 7th fret overtone on upper string. the notes will sustain when you
> > > take your fingers off the fretboard, and you can again tune until
> > > the beats disappear.
> > --
> > YankTheChain.com - You can pretend we're not here. That's what I do.
> >
> > ,
>

-- 
YankTheChain.com - You can pretend we're not here. That's what I do.

,


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