Digital Sound Design: W4: Tuning and Temperament/Soundation

Question 1

DSD: What is equal temperament?

Answer 1

The tuning method used in most western music. e.g. a piano.

Question 2

DSD: What do we mean if we say that an overtone has a 3 to two ratio?

Answer 2

Then we are talking about the distance between the second and third note in an overtone series.

Question 3

DSD: What is a problem that appears when we notate high overtones on a staff?

Answer 3

There are variations in the hertz that fall between notes. e.g. 10 to 9 and 11 to 10 ratios are both major second intervals, but the 11 to 10 ratio is smaller.

Question 4

DSD : What is the pythagorean tuning based on?

Answer 4

Keeping the perfect 5 interval aligned with the overtone series.

Question 5

DSD: What is the problem with pythagorean problem? what is that phenomenon called?

Answer 5

The problem is that an octave, e.g. from c to c, is a quarter note off. This is called the pythagorean comma.

Question 6

DSD: What is ptolemaic tuning?

Answer 6

Just intonation tuning. Much aligned with the tuning of the overtone series. Different cents between major seconds.

Question 7

DSD: What is mean tone tuning?

Answer 7

Major third more important then perfect fifth and all major thirds are made exactly the same. Only one type of major seconds. However we lose the 3:2 perfect fifth.

Question 8

DSD: What is equal temperament tuning?

Answer 8

Each octave is divided into 12 equal semi-tones of each 100 cents.