The Perceptual Tuning Primer - Revision history

MSaarna: /* Theory */

2018-09-27T02:58:49Z

‎Theory

MSaarna: /* Theory */

2018-09-27T02:57:18Z

‎Theory

MSaarna: /* Practical Application */

2018-08-05T16:38:22Z

‎Practical Application

MSaarna at 17:28, 26 December 2015

2015-12-26T17:28:38Z

MSaarna at 05:58, 25 December 2015

2015-12-25T05:58:13Z

MSaarna at 04:59, 23 December 2015

2015-12-23T04:59:04Z

MSaarna: /* Theory */

2015-11-21T22:04:48Z

‎Theory

MSaarna at 20:28, 8 November 2015

2015-11-08T20:28:22Z

135.23.244.228: /* Theory */

2015-11-07T14:57:42Z

‎Theory

135.23.244.228: /* Theory */

2015-11-07T14:44:36Z

‎Theory

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 When we play 2 or more notes that are normally consonant on an instrument that is slightly out of tune, waves that should normally align with regular periodicity lose that alignment and take much longer to line up - they become more dissonant. When we play 2 or more notes together that are normally dissonant on the same out-of-tune instrument, the result is still dissonance. Since our brains use consonance as part of the note identification strategy<ref>[http://www.jneurosci.org/content/29/42/13165.full The Journal of Neuroscience, 21 October 2009, 29(42): 13165-13171; doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3900-09.2009]</ref>, our ability to detect a poorly tuned instrument is stronger with note relationships that are normally consonant, and weaker with note relationships that are normally dissonant.
-The last bit of theory we need to understand is that almost all music is written in a particular key, which can be thought of as a foundation note by which other notes are measured. The notes played in the song are interpreted by our brains in relation to the key. As notes are played that are dissonant in relation to the key, tension builds. When the key or notes that are consonant to the key are played, tension is relaxed.
+The last bit of theory we need to understand is that almost all music is written in a particular key, which can be thought of as a foundation note by which other notes are measured. The notes played in the song are interpreted by our brains in relation to the key. As notes are played that are dissonant in relation to the key, tension builds. When notes that are consonant to the key are played, tension is relaxed.
 While TIA is incapable of creating music that is in absolutely in tune, it turns out we can pick a key for creating TIA music that will ensure that the consonant notes are closer to being in tune, while worrying less about the dissonant notes. This is the idea behind Perceptual Tuning.

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 This section is rather heavy, while using Perceptual Tuning is rather simple in practice. If you find yourself overwhelmed by the theory, feel free to skip ahead to the [[#PracticalApplication|Practical Application]] section.
-When a note sounds "off" to a listener, it isn't because the listener hears that the note is 262 Hz rather than 261.626Hz. It's because the frequency of the note sounds off in relation to other notes in the music. If you speed up the playback of a recording of Beethoven's 5th symphony, the pitch of the notes being played shifts upwards, but overall the recording will still sound in tune because the relationships between the notes remains the same.
+When a note sounds "off" to a listener, it isn't because the listener hears that the note is 262 Hz rather than 261.626Hz. It's because the frequency of the note sounds off in relation to other notes in the music. If you speed up the playback of a recording of Beethoven's 5th symphony, the pitch of the notes are being shifted upwards, but overall the recording will still sound in tune because the relationships between the notes remain the same.
 [[File:Frequency and perfect fifth.png|thumb|2 sine waves, a perfect fifth interval apart. Note how one wave beginning quickly lines up with the other. This results in consonance.]] [[File:Frequency and minor sixth.png|thumb|2 sine waves, a minor sixth interval apart. It will be a long while before the waves coincide, which results in dissonance.]]

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 ==Practical Application==
 <div id="PracticalApplication"></div>
-The musical key with the best TIA Perceptual Tuning for any 12 consecutive notes is A3@218.3Hz, and the next higher 12 notes is good as well if you can avoid the major third at C#5@561.4Hz.
+The musical key with the best TIA Perceptual Tuning score for any 12 consecutive notes is A3@218.3Hz, and the A4 above it is good as well if you can avoid the major third at C#5@561.4Hz.
-You don't have to avoid the less-well tuned notes in A3 in your composition - the point of of the technique is we've hidden TIA's weaknesses where our ears are weaker. Just go ahead and write your songs in the key of A3 as if TIA was as perfectly in-tune, and you'll be taking advantage of Perceptual Tuning.
+When you use the key of A3 in your composition, you don't have to avoid the less-well tuned notes - the point of of this technique is we've hidden TIA's weaknesses where our ears are weaker. Just go ahead and write your songs in the key of A3 as if TIA was as perfectly in-tune, and you'll be taking advantage of Perceptual Tuning.
 ==Samples==

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 ===O Tannenbaum, in A3 for Perceptual Tuning===
 [[File:Tannenbaum - a3 perceptual tuning.mp3]]
 ===Salvo homebrew theme, in A3 for Perceptual Tuning===

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 Listen to the samples below to hear the difference between regular tuning, tune2600 selected tuning, and perceptual tuning. The samples contain some worst case examples - familiar songs with sustained notes, and ranges that cover over an octave.
-===O Tannenbaum, in D4===
+===O Tannenbaum, in G4===
 [[File:Tannenbaum - d4.mp3]]
-===O Tannenbaum, in C3 frequencies as selected by tune2600===
+===O Tannenbaum, in F3 frequencies as selected by tune2600===
 [[File:Tannenbaum - c3 tune2600.mp3]]

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 [[perceptualtuningkey.c]]
 ==References==
 <references />

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 Some note relationships differ in quality from others. When 2 or more note frequencies line up with simple and short periodicity, our brains detect that. There's even have a musical name for it - it's called consonance<ref name="consonancedissonance">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consonance_and_dissonance</ref>. When the frequencies don't line up regularly, its called dissonance<ref name="consonancedissonance"></ref>.
-When we play 2 or more notes that are normally consonant on an instrument that is slightly out of tune, waves that should normally align with regular periodicity lose that alignment and take much longer to line up - they become more dissonant. When we play 2 or more notes together that are normally dissonant on the same out-of-tune instrument, the result is nearly always still dissonance. Since our brains use consonance as part of the note identification strategy<ref>[http://www.jneurosci.org/content/29/42/13165.full The Journal of Neuroscience, 21 October 2009, 29(42): 13165-13171; doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3900-09.2009]</ref>, our ability to detect a poorly tuned instrument is stronger with note relationships that are normally consonant, and weaker with note relationships that are normally dissonant.
+When we play 2 or more notes that are normally consonant on an instrument that is slightly out of tune, waves that should normally align with regular periodicity lose that alignment and take much longer to line up - they become more dissonant. When we play 2 or more notes together that are normally dissonant on the same out-of-tune instrument, the result is still dissonance. Since our brains use consonance as part of the note identification strategy<ref>[http://www.jneurosci.org/content/29/42/13165.full The Journal of Neuroscience, 21 October 2009, 29(42): 13165-13171; doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3900-09.2009]</ref>, our ability to detect a poorly tuned instrument is stronger with note relationships that are normally consonant, and weaker with note relationships that are normally dissonant.
 The last bit of theory we need to understand is that almost all music is written in a particular key, which can be thought of as a foundation note by which other notes are measured. The notes played in the song are interpreted by our brains in relation to the key. As notes are played that are dissonant in relation to the key, tension builds. When the key or notes that are consonant to the key are played, tension is relaxed.