The Blog Category Is Expanding:
I’ve expanded the blog category to include “Basic Acoustics,” “Intonation Music Theory,” and “World Music” topics in addition to the posts about guitar and keyboard intonation.
Tuning Up:
The following posts mostly talk about retuning guitars and micro tuning keyboards.
What’s intonation? It’s retuning guitars and micro tuning synths.
The guitar posts explore music played with open tunings. Moreover, we will look at styles such as rock, blues, folk, country, and Hawaiian.
Tuning with harmonics allows the guitar open tunings to have better sounding chords than the same open tunings tuned using frets or a standard electronic tuner. Nevertheless, the pattern of harmonics for the open tunings looks different than the pattern of harmonics for standard tuning.
The synth posts focus on micro tuning the synth using Supplemented Equal Temperament (SET). I created SET to have better sounding chords that equal temperament (the piano’s tuning). However, it still works with normal, unmodified instruments reading standard sheet music and regular tab.
In other words, pop and other music groups can tune synths and guitars to SET. When tuned to SET, flexible pitch instruments can play with the SET tuned guitar and synth. Specifically, the flexible pitch instruments include the violin, brass, woodwinds, and voice.
Equal tempered instruments can play at least some notes with the SET tuned guitar and synth. Specifically, the fixed pitch equal tempered instruments include the piano, organ, and xylophone. However, most percussion instruments do not need special tunings. Taken together, this makes the SET ensemble.
The cornerstone category article:
The cornerstone category article is a longer article and more technical. The post defines intonation, and discusses microtonality verses tuning theory. Also, it talks about on how SET was formed, and some of the science that went into its creation.
The posts can be further broken into guitar, synth, ensemble, etc.
Guitar, etc.:
Online Guitar and Ukulele Tuners:
Synth:
Ensemble:
Intonation Music Theory:
World Music:
Basic Acoustics:
The previous topic lists will be updated periodically. See the post grid below for the full list and full descriptions with featured images.
– Geoffrey Keith
© 2021 Geoffrey Keith
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Power chords are an integral part of rock music’s electric guitar sound. However, you only get that exact sound when you use power chords with distortion. Why? Because a distorted electric guitar doesn’t sound quite as good with full major and minor harmonies. Why? Keep reading “Can Somebody Explain Why Power Chords Sound Powerful?” to learn why these powerful little two and three note harmonies work. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
“What’s the basic difference between Drop D vs Open D tuning?” Both are popular alternate guitar tunings. However, which string notes you alter, and how you play them once you’re done, will give them very different sounds. As a bonus, I’ve also added sections on Double Drop D and DADFAD tuning. Keep reading to learn what they are, and how you play them. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
“Which notes are authentic blue notes?” The following post clears up the confusion around blue notes and has an example of a popular song that uses them. Keep reading to learn how it works. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Have you ever wondered what the word intonation means? In music, it’s an important part of performance for many instruments, and it impacts all instruments to one degree of another. Keep reading “What Does Intonation Mean and Why Is It Essential in Music?” to learn more. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Do you want a clear understanding of what the word resonate means in music? Music has an amazing capacity to affect our emotions. However, the word resonate can have both objective and subjective meanings when it comes to music. Keep reading “What’s the Meaning of Resonate in the Context of Music?” to learn both definitions. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Do you want a better understanding of musical pitch? In the field of music, there exists a relationship between acoustics, music pitch, and sound vibration frequencies. From the moving passages of a string quartet to the driving pulse of a rhythm section, life is filled with an enormous array of musical sounds that you can enjoy. Keep reading to learn how music pitch works. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Have you ever wondered why a chord works with one instrument’s tone color (or a particular timbre of voice) but not another? Do you want to know what to listen for when tuning up your chords? Timbre and harmony are intimately related and understanding that relationship will deepen a composer’s knowledge of music. Also, it’ll help vocals, woodwinds, brass, and violins to know what to listen for when tuning up chords. Keep reading to learn the secret relationship of timbre and harmony. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Do you need simple instructions for tuning a keyboard to meantone temperament? Meantone tuning is a temperament from Mozart’s time. It allows you to have an authentic sound when playing music from the classical period. Keeping reading “Meantone Tuning (Simple Instructions)” to learn how to get this sound. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Do you want to try out open G tuning, but don’t know where to start? While G tuning has a wonderfully resonant quality, there are still some things you need to think about before you begin learning these alternate guitar tunings. Keep reading “What’s the Catch with G Guitar Tuning?” to find out what makes it both captivating and challenging at the same time. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Do you want to tune the ukulele with a free online tuner? If you’d like to get your ukulele into the standard ukulele tuning in equal temperament, don’t worry, I have what you need. However, did you know that the Hawaiians tune their instruments so that their ukes sound a lot better? Click to tune up the most common versions of the tuning. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.