Exploration of Tuning Systems Ep 2: Tuning In

What does ‘in tune’ actually mean? In this episode we will discuss the roots of microtonal music, approaches to microtonal composition and how it is received. Does microtonal music have potential to be consumed on the same level as equal temperament?

In Western culture today, our music is, for the most part, confined to equal temperament, in which we have 12 fixed pitches to build harmony and melody. But what about our infinite potential of pitches, and the sonic experience of micro-intervals? This series explores whether microtonality and just intonation have a place in mainstream consumption of music. Looking at the history of our tuning systems, notions of what really is ‘in tune’, and the sonic experience of pure intervals, we will discover how equal temperament can limit us, and how composers are breaking free from this convention.