The archive contains posts about tuning instruments and vocals.
Are you frustrated that your guitar or synth chords sound out of tune? Do you want to sing in tune? Many of the following posts deal with how to retune guitars and synths so they sound better. Other posts deal with singing or playing in tune.
However, the tuning posts do not stop at the simple question of how to tune a guitar or a synth. They also look at the deeper questions of what does it mean to be in tune and how to tune better.
When musicians tune instruments, they bring the instruments’ notes into agreement with a cultural standard. The standard remains different for fixed pitch instruments, such as the piano, than for flexible pitch instruments, such as the voice.
In Western culture, equal temperament remains the standard for fixed pitch instruments. It allows the instrument to have a manageable number of notes. Also, all twelve scales remain usable.
However, the chords sound barely in tune. Therefore, many of the posts in the archive talk about how to tune instruments using Supplemented Equal Temperament (SET). SET is an enhanced version of equal temperament. Thus, chords sound better in SET than in equal temperament.
Flexible pitch instruments, such as the voice, violin, brass, and woodwind families, have the ability to adjust their pitch as they play. Consequently, many of the archive posts deal with vocal intonation. (Though any flexible pitch instrumentalist will benefit from the ear training.)
To help them achieve this, the singing posts have specially tuned sing-along songs that train vocalists to sing melodies and harmonies accurately.
© 2021 Geoffrey Keith
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Does it ever bother you that the piano chords sound out of tune? The guitar is not the only instrument that can be retuned. Retuning the keys to Supplemented Equal Temperament (SET) yields chords that sound better than equal temperament – the standard piano tuning. In SET, the triads sound incredible. Learn how to micro tune the keyboard using SET for awesome chords! Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Want to train your ear to harmonize in tune? All you need is a guitar. Read more to learn how to sing in tune like an a cappella singer! Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Frustrated that the guitar’s chords don’t sound in tune? Learn to tune the blues rock open D tuning using harmonics so you can play chords in tune. You will also learn the song “Jumping Jack Flash.” Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Frustrated that the guitar sounds out of tune? Learn to tune the classic rock open G tuning using harmonics to be able to play chords in tune. You will also learn the song “Honky Tonk Women.” Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
How you tune affects how you sound. We look at how Keith Richards tunes his special open G tuning. The post includes video interviews with Keith Richards. Learn how to tune like a rock star! Estimated reading time 3 minutes.