Audiotool board archive

Microtonal scales

bonk.hhhh · started 2020-03-05 16:17 · updated 2020-12-23 22:35

I've been getting into microtonal stuff recently and couldn't find a way to make microtonal music in Audiotool. Quarter-tone microtonal would be nice, and would probably get a lot of use.

Comments (26)

2020-03-05 16:18 · 2020-03-05

would be nice to see, aswell. maybe some sort of device which has microtonal keys instead of the normal layout.

2020-03-05 17:18 · 2020-03-05

can't you use the cent knobs on both the pulv and heisen?..

kurp · reply
2020-03-05 17:19 · 2020-03-05

you could but it's technically not microtonal

:_archive · reply
2020-03-05 17:25 · 2020-03-05

but wouldn't a scale of 50 cents per step technically be microtonal?

bonk.hhhh · reply
2020-03-05 18:43 · 2020-03-05

no, it just pitches it up or down. it doesn't change the difference in between notes.

2020-03-05 20:03 · 2020-03-05

actually if you mean stuff like autotuning or changing the pitch of a sample im in with this. i've been wanting this for SOOO long

:_archive · reply
2020-03-05 21:35 · 2020-03-05

well, you could, for example, have the same note playing and just change the cent knob.

kurp · reply
2020-03-05 21:37 · 2020-03-05

nah, microtonal is different

kurp · reply
2020-03-05 21:37 · 2020-03-05

you could also play traditional notes using the cent knob, but why would you do that?

2020-03-05 22:01 · 2020-03-05

maybe i could have two of the same synth, same preset, but one is 50 cents higher

2020-03-06 00:16 · 2020-03-06

I swear there’s an option for it somewhere in there. Either in the settings for the heisenberg or in the preferences or something.

TwoSworded · reply
2020-03-06 00:17 · 2020-03-06

I’ll look when I get home

kurp · reply
2020-03-06 00:55 · 2020-03-06

It's a feature called "Micro-tuning" it's still not micro-tonal, since it only pitches everything down, like the cent knob. but it's in hertz instead of cents.

2020-03-06 10:39 · 2020-03-06

I also think it's not possible at the moment.
The least worst workaround that comes into my mind is to abuse the Machiniste as a sampler and tune the pitches in a microtonal way.
Have any listening examples for what that might be useful? "... probably get a lot of use." doesn't align well with the fact, that I haven't seen a similar feature request in the past ;)

bonk.hhhh · reply
2020-03-06 15:15 · 2020-03-06

I figured out how to shift individual notes, but not add more in between, using the "micro-tuning" feature that I just learned existed from kurp's comment. I don't know about others, but I know I would definitely use a full microtonal feature if Audiotool had it.

2020-09-21 17:00 · 2020-09-21

If I'm not mistaken, there is microtonal tuning now

SHOJO ACID · reply
2020-09-22 05:04 · 2020-09-22

i need proof

2020-09-22 05:08 · 2020-09-22

bitch we need microtonal tunings right now

2020-09-22 14:16 · 2020-09-22

You already have them: click the Setup Modules icon on the top right (between the plus sign icon and the clock icon), click the Tuning tab and the Create new Microtuning button. Double-click "Micro Tuning" to rename it and set the tuning in cents for each of the 12 notes in the chromatic scale. Click the recycle icon to apply this tuning to all your synths or right-click a synth and choose the "Micro Tuning >" context menu item to apply the tuning to one synth only.

kurp · reply
2020-09-22 14:42 · 2020-09-22

wow man i am completely wrong here lol

SHOJO ACID · reply
2020-09-23 18:36 · 2020-09-23

you can't add notes between them but ight

2020-09-23 21:44 · 2020-09-23

Yes, it's an incomplete implementation. But you could have more than one synth with contiguous intervals to compensate for the missing notes inside an octave. For example, two synths with identical sound settings for 24 notes/octave. Each synth plays one half of an octave.

2020-09-23 22:17 · 2020-09-23

I think the best solution would be to re-implement the microtonal feature in the right way. That is, the choice of interval between successive notes would define the amount of notes per octave. That's what microtonal tuning is. If you choose a quarter tone, you have 24 notes per octave. Other microtonal scales are 15-TET (tone equal temperament) or a scale divided into 15 equal steps, 17-TET, 19-TET, etc. The microtonal module would allow you to choose a specific microtonal scale instead of defining note tunings manually (tedious and unnecessary) and limiting you to 12 notes (defeats the purpose). Here's more information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microtonal_music
List of microtonal scales:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Microtonality (under the heading "0-9")
Examples of microtonal music on a synth:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6gBmXyx_QM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aow_xZmmnYA

2020-12-23 21:30 · 2020-12-23

i would use this for literally every track!! audiotool's microtuning capabilities are cool but not generalizable enough. for a lot of stuff recently i've been needing to go to other daws where i can use softsynths that allow .scl file tuning. if there was a way to import a .scl instead of having to build the scale in audiotool, i think that would essentially solve this issue. jordi's suggestion is great but it would make it difficult to accurately use extended JI without using bizarrely large divisions of the octave. it also prevents non-octave scales.
.scl allows essentially any of these and PLUS there's already a huge database of scales and scale generation programs available for free online. and .kbm files allow keyboard remapping so that piano rolls aren't a mess with .scl's applied.
https://sevish.com/scaleworkshop/ is helpful as are many other of sevish's microtonal resources

nico · reply
2020-12-23 21:35 · 2020-12-23

i would use this daily! there's a number of musicians here on AT (including; me, heissen, jaay, and retro) who regularly use microtones, and an extended feature besides the flimsy microtuning we have would certainly increase that number :)

SHOJO ACID · reply
2020-12-23 22:35 · 2020-12-23

i... i got mentioned by nico. my life has been complete