How to Retune a Score with Tune Smithy - Tutorial for Sibelius - Retuned to 7 Equal

http://tunesmithy.com This is the easy way to compose microtonally. It's the "scordatura score" method. You use a normal score and your usual notation software - and retune any of the notes of your score to anything you like.

This is similar to the way strings in a string instrument are retuned to play a scordatura score e.g. top string retuned from A to G to play the Bach Cello Suite number 6 - because of the retuning of the string, the note played is a G - but it is notated on the score for the Cello suite as an A (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scordatura and http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scor...)

This approach lets you use all the amazing capabilities of your notation software to compose microtonally. Also you end up with a score which a classically trained keyboard player can sight read and play immediately on a keyboard retuned in the same way (you can use Tune Smithy to retune a midi keyboard just as you use it to retune the score).

There is no need to be familiar with the tuning to play a retuned keyboard + scordatura score..

You get Tune Smithy here:
http://tunesmithy.com/fts_download2.htm

and Loopbe1 here (scroll down the page to find it):
http://www.nerds.de/en/download.html

to connect the score to Tune Smithy


For small scales with not too many notes per octave, then the simplest approach is to use just the "white notes" of the score. Forget the usual way of interpreting the score, and think of the lines and spaces as consecutive notes of your scale whatever it is.

This demo shows the process for seven equal - a good starting point because
the notes are not too far in pitch from the 12-equal score notes. So familiar - yet unfamiliar as well.

The demo briefly touches on use of a five tone scale in the same way, with a Japanese Koto and a Slendro scale as examples.

MORE ABOUT THE TUNING USED IN THIS DEMO

7 equal is a seven tone scale but instead of the familiar mix of tones and semitones, it has all the steps the same, in-between the familiar tone and semitone in size. Near seven equal tunings are used in Thailand and also for the Chopi tunings in Africa.

In 7 equal the fifth is a dissonance, a bit like a dominant seventh in feel perhaps. The consonance, roughly equivalent to the usual triad, is the diad, a neutral third at 11/9.

And basically if you play alternate scale degrees, you find that the whole scale is just one big chord, a diminished seventh type feel to it.

Since all steps are equal then you can take any tune or chord and transpose it where you like and it will sound the same.

At least - that's my take on it - try for yourself, maybe you will find another way of looking at it.

That's one of the great things about microtonal music. The possibilities are so vast and you can start where you like and make your own explorations.

For more about it and to have a listen to my complete 7 equal trio see http://robertinventor.com/musicandvir...


For larger scales with many notes to an octave you would use the black notes as well, and for the very largest scales you would use several octaves of the score to play one octave of the tuning. You can do non octave scales as well in the same way, e.g. the Bohlen Pierce scale repeating at 3/1 (octave + fifth). I'll do some more demos showing some of these.

Find out more about Tune Smithy and get it here:
http://tunesmithy.com/