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Chord

 

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The archive gathers together the posts about tuning chords.

 

 

Chord

 

Do you want to know how to tune chords better?

 

Chord Defined

The term does not come from the word cord (i.e., string). Rather, it comes from the Middle English word cord, which means accord. In other words, the notes in a harmony are in accord, meaning they work well together.

 

Likewise, the term harmony, a synonym of chord, also carries the idea of notes that work well together. Therefore, harmony remains a branch of music theory that deals with how notes combine to create consonant and dissonant groupings.

 

The notes in a harmony can be played one after the other. However, most often harmony deals with notes that happen at the same time.

 

When a chord gets played as a block, it remains sensitive to mistuning. Therein lies the problem with harmony, it can be tricky to tune.

 

Tuning Chords

Equal temperament remains the standard tuning for instruments like the piano, organ, guitar, and xylophone. It makes compromises in the harmonies in order to keep the total number of notes to a workable amount.

 

Equal temperament could be thought of as a well temperament that spreads the tuning errors evenly across the whole tuning system. It has the advantage that none of the chords sound really bad. Also, all of the scales remain usable.

 

However, the equal tempered major thirds are just spitting distance from being out of tune.

 

How to Better Tune Chords

A new tuning system, called Supplemented Equal Temperament, creates an enhanced version of equal temperament that has better sounding chords.

 

Many of the following posts talk about how to tune harmonies using Supplemented Equal Temperament, while other posts deal with singing harmonies in tune.

 

© 2021 Geoffrey Keith

 

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2112’s guitar tuning - Spaceship and wormhole

2112’s Guitar Tuning

Do you want to know how Alex Lifeson tunes his guitar in the sci-fi rock opera 2112? How does experience with playing the violin or viola impact how guitarists tunes? This space opera may be the only example of a guitarist’s tuning being included as part of the finished product. At the beginning of the section entitled Discovery the hero finds a guitar, then tunes and plays it. Read more to learn about 2112’s guitar tuning.
Estimated reading time 7 minutes.

Harmony is Tone Color - sheet music with color - Accurately Reading Musical Notes and the Colors of a Rainbow - Is Singing Solfege Helpful for Learning to Hear Intervals by Ear

Harmony is Tone Color

Do you want to sound like your favorite vocal artist? What exactly is harmony, and how does it affect singing in tune? Harmony is tone color, read more to learn how this fact impacts singing (or playing) in tune.
Estimated reading time 7 minutes.

supplemented equal temperament minor keys - two curved keyboards.jpg

How Supplemented Equal Temperament Minor Keys Work

Frustrated with your out of tune synth chords? Do you want your brass, woodwind, and string programs to sound better? It’s not only the program you select which controls how your synth sounds, the tuning has an impact as well. I created Supplemented Equal Temperament (SET) to produce chords that sound better in tune than equal temperament (the piano’s tuning). Read more to learn how SET minor keys work.
Estimated reading time 5 minutes.

Intonation and the Supplemented Equal Temperament Chart 2 - how to change keys in supplemented equal temperament

How to Change Keys in Supplemented Equal Temperament

Have you tried retuning your synth, but gotten frustrated by the limited number of keys? Do you want your keyboard’s chords to sound stronger when playing brass, string, and organ sounds? Supplemented Equal Temperament (SET) is a new and powerful tuning system that allows your chords to sound stronger and more in tune. Kurzweil’s PC3K synth also makes it a breeze to switch keys while using SET. Read more to learn how to change keys in Supplemented Equal Temperament. Estimated reading time 7 minutes.