Even more IN tune

[S V G <vsyevolod@yahoo.com>]

     Speaking of "even more out of tune" and "horrible noise", anyone 
interested in tuning might
want to check out this thing called Hermode Tuning.  
http://www.hermode.com/

     It's available currently on many newer synths such as Access, 
Waldorf, and Native Instruments
products.

     As someone who's been involved with microtonal music for 25 years or 
so, I can honestly say
that this is the first thing I've seen come down the pike that holds real 
promise.  Take a gander
at their website.  It's one of the best website designs that I've come 
across in ages.  Highly
informative and well written.  Plus some musical examples that really show 
what all this talk is
about.

     Of course there are limitations built into the system.  If 12 tones 
per octave is your piece
of cake, it's worth your while checking this out.

     The basic premise is that it analyzes a set of notes, either melodic 
or harmonic, and adjusts
the tuning in real time, much like a string quartet does.  It does so in a 
"natural" sounding way
that sounded very real to my overly picky ears.  You can set the amount of 
pitch change anywhere
from 0 to full on Just Intonation.

     Some PR from the Access site...

For centuries we have been playing musical instruments that are out of 
tune...
Ever since the emergence of polyphonic instruments, including all 
keyboards as well as fretted
instruments such as the lute and guitar, tuning has always been a 
compromise. Several attempts
from the 16th-18th centuries to standardise the temperament (tuning) of 
church organs and
virginals helped a little, but they were battling against the mighty laws 
of physics.

First suggested in 1636, our modern “Equal Temperament” was only in common 
use from the late 18th
century onwards because it was considered much too much of a compromise at 
the time. Despite it’s
one advantage (the freedom to play in any key), Equal Temperament simply 
dilutes the fundamental
problem, spreading it across all the notes in the octave.
Experienced singers and string players use “just” intonation – they adapt 
to any keys and
modulations (key changes) because they have infinitely variable control 
over pitch. Within certain
limits, the pitch of wind instruments can also be varied by adjusting 
embouchure (lip
position/tension). A group of musicians instinctively approaches a common 
overtone structure,
minimizing the “friction” between all the voices in a chord. This results 
in the wonderfully rich
but compact sound of symphony orchestras or gospel choirs.

Unfortunately, real time intonation was not a feasible proposition for 
makers of keyboard
instrument. Finding a usable method of performing fine adjustments to each 
and every note seemed
physically impossible, especially when playing polyphonically.
These days, digital musical instruments can automate this process. The 
Pure Tuning (aka. Hermode)
algorithm analyses chords and immediately adjusts the pitch of each note 
so that the prominent
harmonics line up. Especially for normal synthesizer sounds, the 
difference between Equal
Temperament and Pure Tuning may appear to be rather subtle at first 
(though this difference can be
accentuated – see below):
Select the factory preset C126 (-Init-) on your Virus. Turn the Detune 
value down to 7 to make the
phasing between the two oscillators nice and slow. Play a few simple major 
chords, or just a
C-major triad if you prefer, and vary the PureTuning Intensity parameter.

At 127, PureTuning is fully on: The chord is well intonated (like a choir) 
and does not exhibit
any beating between notes. This may seem a little unusual at first, but it 
sounds perfectly
“straight” and correct after you have familiarized yourself with the 
effect. Setting PureTuning
back to zero (“Equal”) switches it off again: The chord is beating and, 
after comparing the two
extremes, this original setting sound equally unusual. The chord now 
appears to be tuned rather
oddly, not quite pure enough, slightly spoiled compared with the maximum 
setting.
Astonishingly, this is the very same Equal Temperament we have been 
hearing all our lives...



     Cheers,

        Stephen





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