Equal temperament

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A comparison of some "EDO" equal temperament scales.[1] The graph spans one octave
horizontally (open the image to view the full width), and each shaded rectangle is
the width of one step in a scale. The just interval ratios are separated in rows by
their prime limits.

12-tone equal temperament chromatic scale on C, one full octave ascending, notated
only with sharps. About this soundPlay ascending and descending (help�info)
An equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning, in which the
frequency interval between every pair of adjacent notes has the same ratio. In
other words, the ratios of the frequencies of any adjacent pair of notes is the
same, and, as pitch is perceived roughly as the logarithm of frequency,[2] equal
perceived "distance" from every note to its nearest neighbor.

In equal temperament tunings, the generating interval is often found by dividing

some larger desired interval, often the octave (ratio 2:1), into a number of
smaller equal steps (equal frequency ratios between successive notes).

In classical music and Western music in general, the most common tuning system
since the 18th century has been twelve-tone equal temperament (also known as 12
equal temperament, 12-TET or 12-ET), which divides the octave into 12 parts, all of
which are equal on a logarithmic scale, with a ratio equal to the 12th root of 2
(12v2 � 1.05946). That resulting smallest interval, ?1/12 the width of an octave,
is called a semitone or half step. In modern times, 12-TET is usually tuned
relative to a standard pitch of 440 Hz, called A440, meaning one note, A, is tuned
to 440 hertz and all other notes are defined as some multiple of semitones apart
from it, either higher or lower in frequency. The standard pitch has not always
been 440 Hz. It has varied and generally risen over the past few hundred years.[3]

Other equal temperaments divide the octave differently. For example, some music has
been written in 19-TET and 31-TET. Arabic music uses 24-TET as a notational
convention. In Western countries the term equal temperament, without qualification,
generally means 12-TET. To avoid ambiguity between equal temperaments that divide
the octave and those that divide some other interval (or that use an arbitrary
generator without first dividing a larger interval), the term equal division of the
octave, or EDO is preferred for the former. According to this naming system, 12-TET
is called 12-EDO, 31-TET is called 31-EDO, and so on.

An example of an equal temperament that finds its smallest interval by dividing an

interval other than the octave into equal parts is the equal-tempered version of
the Bohlen�Pierce scale, which divides the just interval of an octave and a fifth
(ratio 3:1), called a "tritave" or a "pseudo-octave" in that system, into 13 equal
parts.

Unfretted string ensembles, which can adjust the tuning of all notes except for
open strings, and vocal groups, who have no mechanical tuning limitations,
sometimes use a tuning much closer to just intonation for acoustic reasons. Other
instruments, such as some wind, keyboard, and fretted instruments, often only
approximate equal temperament, where technical limitations prevent exact tunings.
[citation needed] Some wind instruments that can easily and spontaneously bend
their tone, most notably trombones, use tuning similar to string ensembles and
vocal groups.

A comparison of equal temperaments between 10-TET and 60-TET on each main interval
of small prime limits (red: 3/2, green: 5/4, blue: 7/4, yellow: 11/8, cyan: 13/8).
Each colored graph shows how much error occurs (in cents) when each EDO
approximates the corresponding just interval (the black line on the center). Two
black curves surrounding the graph on both sides represent the maximum possible
error, while the gray ones inside of them indicate the half of it.

Contents
1 History
1.1 China
1.1.1 Early history
1.1.2 Zhu Zaiyu
1.2 Europe
1.2.1 Early history
1.2.2 Simon Stevin
1.2.3 Baroque era
2 General properties
2.1 General formulas for the equal-tempered interval
3 Twelve-tone equal temperament
3.1 Calculating absolute frequencies
3.2 Historical comparison
3.3 Comparison with Just Intonation
3.4 Seven-tone equal division of the fifth
4 Other equal temperaments
4.1 5 and 7 tone temperaments in ethnomusicology
4.2 Various Western equal temperaments
4.3 Equal temperaments of non-octave intervals
4.4 Proportions between semitone and whole tone
5 Related tuning systems
5.1 Regular diatonic tunings
6 See also
7 References
7.1 Citations
7.2 Sources
8 Further reading
9 External links
History
The two figures frequently credited with the achievement of exact calculation of
equal temperament are Zhu Zaiyu (also romanized as Chu-Tsaiyu. Chinese: ???) in
1584 and Simon Stevin in 1585. According to Fritz A. Kuttner, a critic of the
theory,[4] it is known that "Chu-Tsaiyu presented a highly precise, simple and
ingenious method for arithmetic calculation of equal temperament mono-chords in
1584" and that "Simon Stevin offered a mathematical definition of equal temperament
plus a somewhat less precise computation of the corresponding numerical values in
1585 or later." The developments occurred independently.[5]

Kenneth Robinson attributes the invention of equal temperament to Zhu Zaiyu[6] and
provides textual quotations as evidence.[7] Zhu Zaiyu is quoted as saying that, in
a text dating from 1584, "I have founded a new system. I establish one foot as the
number from which the others are to be extracted, and using proportions I extract
them. Altogether one has to find the exact figures for the pitch-pipers in twelve
operations."[7] Kuttner disagrees and remarks that his claim "cannot be considered
correct without major qualifications."[4] Kuttner proposes that neither Zhu Zaiyu
or Simon Stevin achieved equal temperament and that neither of the two should be
treated as inventors.[8]

China
Early history
The origin of the Chinese pentatonic scale is traditionally ascribed to the
mythical Ling Lun. Allegedly his writings discussed the equal division of the scale
in the 27th century BC.[9] However, evidence of the origins of writing in this
period (the early Longshan) in China is limited to rudimentary inscriptions on
oracle bones and pottery.[10]

A complete set of bronze chime bells, among many musical instruments found in the
tomb of the Marquis Yi of Zeng (early Warring States, c. 5th century BCE in the
Chinese Bronze Age), covers five full 7-note octaves in the key of C Major,
including 12 note semi-tones in the middle of the range.[11]

An approximation for equal temperament was described by He Chengtian, a

mathematician of Southern and Northern Dynasties around 400 AD. He came out with
the earliest recorded approximate numerical sequence in relation to equal
temperament in history: 900 849 802 758 715 677 638 601 570 536 509.5 479 450.[12]

Prince Zhu Zaiyu constructed 12 string equal temperament tuning instrument, front
and back view
Historically, there was a seven-equal temperament or hepta-equal temperament
practice in Chinese tradition.[13][14]

Zhu Zaiyu (???), a prince of the Ming court, spent thirty years on research based
on the equal temperament idea originally postulated by his father. He described his
new pitch theory in his Fusion of Music and Calendar ???? published in 1580. This
was followed by the publication of a detailed account of the new theory of the
equal temperament with a precise numerical specification for 12-TET in his 5,000-
page work Complete Compendium of Music and Pitch (Yuel� quan shu ????) in 1584.[15]
An extended account is also given by Joseph Needham.[16] Zhu obtained his result
mathematically by dividing the length of string and pipe successively by 12v2 �
1.059463, and for pipe length by 24v2,[17] such that after twelve divisions (an
octave) the length was divided by a factor of 2:

{\displaystyle \left({\sqrt[{12}]{2}}\right)^{12}=2}{\displaystyle
\left({\sqrt[{12}]{2}}\right)^{12}=2}
Similarly, after 84 divisions (7 octaves) the length was divided by a factor of
128:

{\displaystyle \left({\sqrt[{12}]{2}}\right)^{84}=2^{7}=128}{\displaystyle
\left({\sqrt[{12}]{2}}\right)^{84}=2^{7}=128}
Zhu Zaiyu
Zhu Zaiyu has been credited as the first person to solve the equal temperament
problem mathematically.[18] At least one researcher has proposed that Matteo Ricci,
a Jesuit in China recorded this work in his personal journal[18][19] and may have
transmitted the work back to Europe. (Standard resources on the topic make no
mention of any such transfer.[20]) In 1620, Zhu's work was referenced by a European
mathematician[who?].[19] Murray Barbour said, "The first known appearance in print
of the correct figures for equal temperament was in China, where Prince Tsaiy�'s
brilliant solution remains an enigma."[21] The 19th-century German physicist
Hermann von Helmholtz wrote in On the Sensations of Tone that a Chinese prince (see
below) introduced a scale of seven notes, and that the division of the octave into
twelve semitones was discovered in China.[22]

Zhu Zaiyu's equal temperament pitch pipes

Zhu Zaiyu illustrated his equal temperament theory by the construction of a set of
36 bamboo tuning pipes ranging in 3 octaves, with instructions of the type of
bamboo, color of paint, and detailed specification on their length and inner and
outer diameters. He also constructed a 12-string tuning instrument, with a set of
tuning pitch pipes hidden inside its bottom cavity. In 1890, Victor-Charles
Mahillon, curator of the Conservatoire museum in Brussels, duplicated a set of
pitch pipes according to Zhu Zaiyu's specification. He said that the Chinese theory
of tones knew more about the length of pitch pipes than its Western counterpart,
and that the set of pipes duplicated according to the Zaiyu data proved the
accuracy of this theory.[23]

Europe

Simon Stevin's Van de Spiegheling der singconst c. 1605.

Early history
One of the earliest discussions of equal temperament occurs in the writing of
Aristoxenus in the 4th century BC.[24]

Vincenzo Galilei (father of Galileo Galilei) was one of the first practical
advocates of twelve-tone equal temperament. He composed a set of dance suites on
each of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale in all the "transposition keys", and
published also, in his 1584 "Fronimo", 24 + 1 ricercars.[25] He used the 18:17
ratio for fretting the lute (although some adjustment was necessary for pure
octaves).[26]

Galilei's countryman and fellow lutenist Giacomo Gorzanis had written music based
on equal temperament by 1567.[27][28] Gorzanis was not the only lutenist to explore
all modes or keys: Francesco Spinacino wrote a "Recercare de tutti li Toni"
(Ricercar in all the Tones) as early as 1507.[29] In the 17th century lutenist-
composer John Wilson wrote a set of 30 preludes including 24 in all the major/minor
keys.[30][31]

Henricus Grammateus drew a close approximation to equal temperament in 1518. The

first tuning rules in equal temperament were given by Giovani Maria Lanfranco in
his "Scintille de musica".[32] Zarlino in his polemic with Galilei initially
opposed equal temperament but eventually conceded to it in relation to the lute in
his Sopplimenti musicali in 1588.

Simon Stevin
The first mention of equal temperament related to the twelfth root of two in the
West appeared in Simon Stevin's manuscript Van De Spiegheling der singconst (ca.
1605), published posthumously nearly three centuries later in 1884.[33] However,
due to insufficient accuracy of his calculation, many of the chord length numbers
he obtained were off by one or two units from the correct values.[20] As a result,
the frequency ratios of Simon Stevin's chords has no unified ratio, but one ratio
per tone, which is claimed by Gene Cho as incorrect.[34]

The following were Simon Stevin's chord length from Van de Spiegheling der
singconst:[35]

Tone Chord 10000 from Simon Stevin Ratio Corrected chord

semitone 9438 1.0595465 9438.7
whole tone 8909 1.0593781
tone and a half 8404 1.0600904 8409
ditone 7936 1.0594758 7937
ditone and a half 7491 1.0594046 7491.5
tritone 7071 1.0593975 7071.1
tritone and a half 6674 1.0594845 6674.2
four-tone 6298 1.0597014 6299
four-tone and a half 5944 1.0595558 5946
five-tone 5611 1.0593477 5612.3
five-tone and a half 5296 1.0594788 5297.2
full tone 1.0592000
A generation later, French mathematician Marin Mersenne presented several equal
tempered chord lengths obtained by Jean Beaugrand, Ismael Bouillaud, and Jean
Galle.[36]

In 1630 Johann Faulhaber published a 100-cent monochord table, which contained

several errors due to his use of logarithmic tables. He did not explain how he
obtained his results.[37]

Baroque era
From 1450 to about 1800, plucked instrument players (lutenists and guitarists)
generally favored equal temperament,[38] and the Brossard lute Manuscript compiled
in the last quarter of the 17th century contains a series of 18 preludes attributed
to Bocquet written in all keys, including the last prelude, entitled Prelude sur
tous les tons, which enharmonically modulates through all keys.[39] Angelo Michele
Bartolotti published a series of passacaglias in all keys, with connecting
enharmonically modulating passages. Among the 17th-century keyboard composers
Girolamo Frescobaldi advocated equal temperament. Some theorists, such as Giuseppe
Tartini, were opposed to the adoption of equal temperament; they felt that
degrading the purity of each chord degraded the aesthetic appeal of music, although
Andreas Werckmeister emphatically advocated equal temperament in his 1707 treatise
published posthumously.[40]

J. S. Bach wrote The Well-Tempered Clavier to demonstrate the musical possibilities

of what is now called well temperament, which allows for all keys to be played, but
does not make half steps equidistant, giving each key signature its own distinct
character. It is possible that when composers and theoreticians of earlier times
wrote of the moods and "colors" of the keys, they each described the subtly
different dissonances made available within a particular tuning method. However, it
is difficult to determine with any exactness the actual tunings used in different
places at different times by any composer. (Correspondingly, there is a great deal
of variety in the particular opinions of composers about the moods and colors of
particular keys.)[citation needed]

Twelve-tone equal temperament took hold for a variety of reasons. It was a

convenient fit for the existing keyboard design, and permitted total harmonic
freedom with the burden of moderate impurity in every interval, particularly
imperfect consonances. This allowed greater expression through enharmonic
modulation, which became extremely important in the 18th century in music of such
composers as Francesco Geminiani, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Carl Philipp Emmanuel
Bach and Johann Gottfried M�thel.[citation needed]

The progress of equal temperament from the mid-18th century on is described with
detail in quite a few modern scholarly publications: it was already the temperament
of choice during the Classical era (second half of the 18th century),[citation
needed] and it became standard during the Early Romantic era (first decade of the
19th century),[citation needed] except for organs that switched to it more
gradually, completing only in the second decade of the 19th century. (In England,
some cathedral organists and choirmasters held out against it even after that date;
Samuel Sebastian Wesley, for instance, opposed it all along. He died in 1876.)
[citation needed]

A precise equal temperament is possible using the 17th-century Sabbatini method of

splitting the octave first into three tempered major thirds.[41] This was also
proposed by several writers during the Classical era. Tuning without beat rates but
employing several checks, achieving virtually modern accuracy, was already done in
the first decades of the 19th century.[42] Using beat rates, first proposed in
1749, became common after their diffusion by Helmholtz and Ellis in the second half
of the 19th century.[43] The ultimate precision was available with 2-decimal tables
published by White in 1917.[44]

It is in the environment of equal temperament that the new styles of symmetrical

tonality and polytonality, atonal music such as that written with the twelve tone
technique or serialism, and jazz (at least its piano component) developed and
flourished.

General properties

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In an equal temperament, the distance between two adjacent steps of the scale is
the same interval. Because the perceived identity of an interval depends on its
ratio, this scale in even steps is a geometric sequence of multiplications. (An
arithmetic sequence of intervals would not sound evenly spaced, and would not
permit transposition to different keys.) Specifically, the smallest interval in an
equal-tempered scale is the ratio:

{\displaystyle r^{n}=p}{\displaystyle r^{n}=p}

{\displaystyle r={\sqrt[{n}]{p}}}{\displaystyle r={\sqrt[{n}]{p}}}
where the ratio r divides the ratio p (typically the octave, which is 2:1) into n
equal parts. (See Twelve-tone equal temperament below.)

Scales are often measured in cents, which divide the octave into 1200 equal
intervals (each called a cent). This logarithmic scale makes comparison of
different tuning systems easier than comparing ratios, and has considerable use in
Ethnomusicology. The basic step in cents for any equal temperament can be found by
taking the width of p above in cents (usually the octave, which is 1200 cents
wide), called below w, and dividing it into n parts:

{\displaystyle c={\frac {w}{n}}}c = \frac{w}{n}

In musical analysis, material belonging to an equal temperament is often given an
integer notation, meaning a single integer is used to represent each pitch. This
simplifies and generalizes discussion of pitch material within the temperament in
the same way that taking the logarithm of a multiplication reduces it to addition.
Furthermore, by applying the modular arithmetic where the modulus is the number of
divisions of the octave (usually 12), these integers can be reduced to pitch
classes, which removes the distinction (or acknowledges the similarity) between
pitches of the same name, e.g. c is 0 regardless of octave register. The MIDI
encoding standard uses integer note designations.

General formulas for the equal-tempered interval

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Twelve-tone equal temperament

One octave of 12-tet on a monochord

In twelve-tone equal temperament, which divides the octave into 12 equal parts, the
width of a semitone, i.e. the frequency ratio of the interval between two adjacent
notes, is the twelfth root of two:

{\displaystyle {\sqrt[{12}]{2}}=2^{\frac {1}{12}}\approx 1.059463}{\displaystyle

{\sqrt[{12}]{2}}=2^{\frac {1}{12}}\approx 1.059463}
This is equivalent to:

{\displaystyle e^{{\frac {1}{12}}\ln 2}\approx 1.059463}{\displaystyle e^{{\frac

{1}{12}}\ln 2}\approx 1.059463}
This interval is divided into 100 cents.

Calculating absolute frequencies

See also: Piano key frequencies
To find the frequency, Pn, of a note in 12-TET, the following definition may be
used:

{\displaystyle P_{n}=P_{a}\left({\sqrt[{12}]{2}}\right)^{(n-a)}}{\displaystyle
P_{n}=P_{a}\left({\sqrt[{12}]{2}}\right)^{(n-a)}}
In this formula Pn refers to the pitch, or frequency (usually in hertz), you are
trying to find. Pa refers to the frequency of a reference pitch. n and a refer to
numbers assigned to the desired pitch and the reference pitch, respectively. These
two numbers are from a list of consecutive integers assigned to consecutive
semitones. For example, A4 (the reference pitch) is the 49th key from the left end
of a piano (tuned to 440Hz), and C4 (middle C),and F#4 are the 40th and 46th key
respectively. These numbers can be used to find the frequency of C4 and F#4 :

{\displaystyle P_{40}=440\left({\sqrt[{12}]{2}}\right)^{(40-49)}\approx 261.626\

\mathrm {Hz} }{\displaystyle P_{40}=440\left({\sqrt[{12}]{2}}\right)^{(40-
49)}\approx 261.626\ \mathrm {Hz} }
{\displaystyle P_{46}=440\left({\sqrt[{12}]{2}}\right)^{(46-49)}\approx 369.994\
\mathrm {Hz} }{\displaystyle P_{46}=440\left({\sqrt[{12}]{2}}\right)^{(46-
49)}\approx 369.994\ \mathrm {Hz} }
Historical comparison
Year Name Ratio Cents
400 He Chengtian 1.060070671 101.0
1580 Vincenzo Galilei 18:17 [1.058823529] 99.0
1581 Zhu Zaiyu 1.059463094 100.0
1585 Simon Stevin 1.059546514 100.1
1630 Marin Mersenne 1.059322034 99.8
1630 Johann Faulhaber 1.059490385 100.0
Reference: Date, name, ratio, cents: from equal temperament monochord tables p55-
p78; J. Murray Barbour Tuning and Temperament, Michigan State University Press 1951

Comparison with Just Intonation

The intervals of 12-TET closely approximate some intervals in just intonation.[45]
The fifths and fourths are almost indistinguishably close to just intervals, while
thirds and sixths are further away.

In the following table the sizes of various just intervals are compared against
their equal-tempered counterparts, given as a ratio as well as cents.

Name Exact value in 12-TET Decimal value in 12-TET Cents Just intonation interval
Cents in just intonation Difference
Unison (C) 2?0/12 = 1 1 0 ?1/1 = 1 0 0
Minor second (C?/D?) 2?1/12 = 12v2 1.059463 100 ?16/15 = 1.06666� 111.73
-11.73
Major second (D) 2?2/12 = 6v2 1.122462 200 ?9/8 = 1.125 203.91
-3.91
Minor third (D?/E?) 2?3/12 = 4v2 1.189207 300 ?6/5 = 1.2 315.64
-15.64
Major third (E) 2?4/12 = 3v2 1.259921 400 ?5/4 = 1.25 386.31 +13.69
Perfect fourth (F) 2?5/12 = 12v32 1.334840 500 ?4/3 = 1.33333� 498.04
+1.96
Tritone (F?/G?) 2?6/12 = v2 1.414214 600 ?7/5 = 1.4
?10/7 = 1.42857... 582.51
617.49 +17.49
-17.49
Perfect fifth (G) 2?7/12 = 12v128 1.498307 700 ?3/2 = 1.5 701.96 -1.96
Minor sixth (G?/A?) 2?8/12 = 3v4 1.587401 800 ?8/5 = 1.6 813.69
-13.69
Major sixth (A) 2?9/12 = 4v8 1.681793 900 ?5/3 = 1.66666� 884.36
+15.64
Minor seventh (A?/B?) 2?10/12 = 6v32 1.781797 1000 ?16/9 = 1.77777� 996.09
+3.91
Major seventh (B) 2?11/12 = 12v2048 1.887749 1100 ?15/8 = 1.875 1088.27
+11.73
Octave (C) 2?12/12 = 2 2 1200 ?2/1 = 2 1200.00 0
Seven-tone equal division of the fifth
Violins, violas and cellos are tuned in perfect fifths (G � D � A � E, for violins,
and C � G � D � A, for violas and cellos), which suggests that their semi-tone
ratio is slightly higher than in the conventional twelve-tone equal temperament.
Because a perfect fifth is in 3:2 relation with its base tone, and this interval is
covered in 7 steps, each tone is in the ratio of 7v?3/2 to the next (100.28 cents),
which provides for a perfect fifth with ratio of 3:2 but a slightly widened octave
with a ratio of � 517:258 or � 2.00388:1 rather than the usual 2:1 ratio, because
twelve perfect fifths do not equal seven octaves.[46] During actual play, however,
the violinist chooses pitches by ear, and only the four unstopped pitches of the
strings are guaranteed to exhibit this 3:2 ratio.

Other equal temperaments

See also: Sonido 13
5 and 7 tone temperaments in ethnomusicology

Approximation of 7-tet
Five and seven tone equal temperament (5-TET About this soundPlay (help�info) and
7-TETAbout this soundPlay (help�info) ), with 240 About this soundPlay (help�info)
and 171 About this soundPlay (help�info) cent steps respectively, are fairly
common.

A Thai xylophone measured by Morton (1974) "varied only plus or minus 5 cents,"
from 7-TET. According to Morton, "Thai instruments of fixed pitch are tuned to an
equidistant system of seven pitches per octave ... As in Western traditional music,
however, all pitches of the tuning system are not used in one mode (often referred
to as 'scale'); in the Thai system five of the seven are used in principal pitches
in any mode, thus establishing a pattern of nonequidistant intervals for the
mode."[47] About this soundPlay (help�info)

Indonesian gamelans are tuned to 5-TET according to Kunst (1949), but according to
Hood (1966) and McPhee (1966) their tuning varies widely, and according to Tenzer
(2000) they contain stretched octaves. It is now well-accepted that of the two
primary tuning systems in gamelan music, slendro and pelog, only slendro somewhat
resembles five-tone equal temperament while pelog is highly unequal; however,
Surjodiningrat et al. (1972) has analyzed pelog as a seven-note subset of nine-tone
equal temperament (133-cent steps About this soundPlay (help�info)).

A South American Indian scale from a pre-instrumental culture measured by Boiles

(1969) featured 175-cent seven-tone equal temperament, which stretches the octave
slightly as with instrumental gamelan music.

5-TET and 7-TET mark the endpoints of the syntonic temperament's valid tuning
range, as shown in Figure 1.

In 5-TET the tempered perfect fifth is 720 cents
continuum), and marks the endpoint on the tuning
the minor second shrinks to a width of 0 cents.
In 7-TET the tempered perfect fifth is 686 cents
continuum), and marks the endpoint on the tuning
wide (at the top of the tuning
continuum at which the width of
wide (at the bottom of the tuning
continuum, at which the minor
second expands to be as wide as the major second (at 171 cents each).
Various Western equal temperaments

Easley Blackwood's notation system for 16 equal temperament: intervals are notated
similarly to those they approximate and there are fewer enharmonic equivalents.[48]
About this soundPlay (help�info)

Comparison of equal temperaments from 9 to 25 (after Sethares (2005), p.58).[1]

24 EDO, the quarter tone scale (or 24-TET), was a popular microtonal tuning in the
20th century probably because it represented a convenient access point for
composers conditioned on standard Western 12 EDO pitch and notation practices who
were also interested in microtonality. Because 24 EDO contains all of the pitches
of 12 EDO, plus new pitches halfway between each adjacent pair of 12 EDO pitches,
they could employ the additional colors without losing any tactics available in 12-
tone harmony. The fact that 24 is a multiple of 12 also made 24 EDO easy to achieve
instrumentally by employing two traditional 12 EDO instruments purposely tuned a
quarter-tone apart, such as two pianos, which also allowed each performer (or one
performer playing a different piano with each hand) to read familiar 12-tone
notation. Various composers including Charles Ives experimented with music for
quarter-tone pianos. 24 EDO approximates the 11th harmonic very well, unlike 12
EDO.

19 EDO is famous and some instruments are tuned in 19 EDO. It has slightly flatter
perfect fifth (at 694 cents), but its major sixth are less than a single cent away
from just intonation's major sixth (at 884 cents). Its minor third is also less
than a cent from just intonation's. Its perfect fourth (at 503 cents), is only 5
cents sharp than just intonation's and 3 cents sharp from 12-tet's.

23 EDO is the largest EDO that fails to approximate the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 11th
harmonics (3:2, 5:4, 7:4, 11:8) within 20 cents, making it attractive to
microtonalists looking for unusual microtonal harmonic territory.

27 EDO is the smallest EDO that uniquely represents all intervals involving the
first eight harmonics. It tempers out the septimal comma but not the syntonic
comma.

29 EDO is the lowest number of equal divisions of the octave that produces a better
perfect fifth than 12 EDO. Its major third is roughly as inaccurate as 12-TET;
however, it is tuned 14 cents flat rather than 14 cents sharp. It tunes the 7th,
11th, and 13th harmonics flat as well, by roughly the same amount. This means
intervals such as 7:5, 11:7, 13:11, etc., are all matched extremely well in 29-TET.

31 EDO was advocated by Christiaan Huygens and Adriaan Fokker. 31 EDO has a
slightly less accurate fifth than 12 EDO, but provides near-just major thirds, and
provides decent matches for harmonics up to at least 13, of which the seventh
harmonic is particularly accurate.

34 EDO gives slightly less total combined errors of approximation to the 5-limit
just ratios 3:2, 5:4, 6:5, and their inversions than 31 EDO does, although the
approximation of 5:4 is worse. 34 EDO doesn't approximate ratios involving prime 7
well. It contains a 600-cent tritone, since it is an even-numbered EDO.

41 EDO is the second lowest number of equal divisions that produces a better
perfect fifth than 12 EDO. Its major third is more accurate than 12 EDO and 29 EDO,
about 6 cents flat. It's not meantone, so it distinguishes 10:9 and 9:8, unlike
31edo. It is more accurate in 13-limit than 31edo.

53 EDO is better at approximating the traditional just consonances than 12, 19 or

31 EDO, but has had only occasional use. Its extremely good perfect fifths make it
interchangeable with an extended Pythagorean tuning, but it also accommodates
schismatic temperament, and is sometimes used in Turkish music theory. It does not,
however, fit the requirements of meantone temperaments, which put good thirds
within easy reach via the cycle of fifths. In 53 EDO, the very consonant thirds
would be reached instead by using a Pythagorean diminished fourth (C-F?), as it is
an example of schismatic temperament, just like 41 EDO.

72 EDO approximates many just intonation intervals well, even into the 7-limit and
11-limit, such as 7:4, 9:7, 11:5, 11:6 and 11:7. 72 EDO has been taught, written
and performed in practice by Joe Maneri and his students (whose atonal inclinations
typically avoid any reference to just intonation whatsoever). It can be considered
an extension of 12 EDO because 72 is a multiple of 12. 72 EDO has a smallest
interval that is six times smaller than the smallest interval of 12 EDO and
therefore contains six copies of 12 EDO starting on different pitches. It also
contains three copies of 24 EDO and two copies of 36 EDO, which are themselves
multiples of 12 EDO. 72 EDO has also been criticized for its redundancy by
retaining the poor approximations contained in 12 EDO, despite not needing them for
any lower limits of just intonation (e.g. 5-limit).

96 EDO approximates all intervals within 6.25 cents, which is barely

distinguishable. As an eightfold multiple of 12, it can be used fully like the
common 12 EDO. It has been advocated by several composers, especially Juli�n
Carrillo from 1924 to the 1940s.[49]

Other equal divisions of the octave that have found occasional use include, 15 EDO,
17 EDO, 19 EDO and 22 EDO.

2, 5, 12, 41, 53, 306, 665 and 15601 are denominators of first convergents of
log2(3), so 2, 5, 12, 41, 53, 306, 665 and 15601 twelfths (and fifths), being in
correspondent equal temperaments equal to an integer number of octaves, are better
approximation of 2, 5, 12, 41, 53, 306, 665 and 15601 just twelfths/fifths than for
any equal temperaments with less tones.[50][51]

1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 12, 29, 41, 53, 200... (sequence A060528 in the OEIS) is the
sequence of divisions of octave that provide better and better approximations of
the perfect fifth. Related sequences contain divisions approximating other just
intervals.[52]

This application: [2] calculates the frequencies, approximate cents, and MIDI pitch
bend values for any systems of equal division of the octave. Note that 'rounded'
and 'floored' produce the same MIDI pitch bend value.

Equal temperaments of non-octave intervals

The equal-tempered version of the Bohlen�Pierce scale consists of the ratio 3:1,
1902 cents, conventionally a perfect fifth plus an octave (that is, a perfect
twelfth), called in this theory a tritave (About this soundplay (help�info)), and
split into thirteen equal parts. This provides a very close match to justly tuned
ratios consisting only of odd numbers. Each step is 146.3 cents (About this
soundplay (help�info)), or 13v3.

Wendy Carlos created three unusual equal temperaments after a thorough study of the
properties of possible temperaments having a step size between 30 and 120 cents.
These were called alpha, beta, and gamma. They can be considered as equal divisions
of the perfect fifth. Each of them provides a very good approximation of several
just intervals.[53] Their step sizes:

alpha: 9v?3/2 (78.0 cents) About this soundPlay (help�info)

beta: 11v?3/2 (63.8 cents) About this soundPlay (help�info)
gamma: 20v?3/2 (35.1 cents) About this soundPlay (help�info)
Alpha and Beta may be heard on the title track of her 1986 album Beauty in the
Beast.

Proportions between semitone and whole tone

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this
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In this section, semitone and whole tone may not have their usual 12-EDO meanings,
as it discusses how they may be tempered in different ways from their just versions
to produce desired relationships. Let the number of steps in a semitone be s, and
the number of steps in a tone be t.

There is exactly one family of equal temperaments that fixes the semitone to any
proper fraction of a whole tone, while keeping the notes in the right order
(meaning that, for example, C, D, E, F, and F? are in ascending order if they
preserve their usual relationships to C). That is, fixing q to a proper fraction in
the relationship qt = s also defines a unique family of one equal temperament and
its multiples that fulfil this relationship.

For example, where k is an integer, 12k-EDO sets q = ?1/2, and 19k-EDO sets q = ?
1/3. The smallest multiples in these families (e.g. 12 and 19 above) has the
additional property of having no notes outside the circle of fifths. (This is not
true in general; in 24-EDO, the half-sharps and half-flats are not in the circle of
fifths generated starting from C.) The extreme cases are 5k-EDO, where q = 0 and
the semitone becomes a unison, and 7k-EDO, where q = 1 and the semitone and tone
are the same interval.

Once one knows how many steps a semitone and a tone are in this equal temperament,
one can find the number of steps it has in the octave. An equal temperament
fulfilling the above properties (including having no notes outside the circle of
fifths) divides the octave into 7t - 2s steps, and the perfect fifth into 4t - s
steps. If there are notes outside the circle of fifths, one must then multiply
these results by n, which is the number of nonoverlapping circles of fifths
required to generate all the notes (e.g. two in 24-EDO, six in 72-EDO). (One must
take the small semitone for this purpose: 19-EDO has two semitones, one being ?1/3
tone and the other being ?2/3.)

The smallest of these families is 12k-EDO, and in particular, 12-EDO is the

smallest equal temperament that has the above properties. Additionally, it also
makes the semitone exactly half a whole tone, the simplest possible relationship.
These are some of the reasons why 12-EDO has become the most commonly used equal
temperament. (Another reason is that 12-EDO is the smallest equal temperament to
closely approximate 5-limit harmony, the next-smallest being 19-EDO.)

Each choice of fraction q for the relationship results in exactly one equal
temperament family, but the converse is not true: 47-EDO has two different
semitones, where one is ?1/7 tone and the other is ?8/9, which are not complements
of each other like in 19-EDO (?1/3 and ?2/3). Taking each semitone results in a
different choice of perfect fifth.

Related tuning systems

Regular diatonic tunings

Figure 1: The regular diatonic tunings continuum, which include many notable "equal
temperament" tunings (Milne 2007).[54]
The diatonic tuning in twelve equal can be generalized to any regular diatonic
tuning dividing the octave as a sequence of steps TTSTTTS (or a rotation of it)
with all the T's and all the S's the same size and the S's smaller than the T's. In
twelve equal the S is the semitone and is exactly half the size of the tone T. When
the S's reduce to zero the result is TTTTT or a five-tone equal temperament, As the
semitones get larger, eventually the steps are all the same size, and the result is
in seven tone equal temperament. These two endpoints are not included as regular
diatonic tunings.

The notes in a regular diatonic tuning are connected together by a cycle of seven
tempered fifths. The twelve-tone system similarly generalizes to a sequence
CDCDDCDCDCDD (or a rotation of it) of chromatic and diatonic semitones connected
together in a cycle of twelve fifths. In this case, seven equal is obtained in the
limit as the size of C tends to zero and five equal is the limit as D tends to zero
while twelve equal is of course the case C = D.

Some of the intermediate sizes of tones and semitones can also be generated in
equal temperament systems. For instance if the diatonic semitone is double the size
of the chromatic semitone, i.e. D = 2*C the result is nineteen equal with one step
for the chromatic semitone, two steps for the diatonic semitone and three steps for
the tone and the total number of steps 5*T + 2*S = 15 + 4 = 19 steps. The resulting
twelve-tone system closely approximates to the historically important 1/3 comma
meantone.

If the chromatic semitone is two-thirds of the size of the diatonic semitone, i.e.
C = (2/3)*D, the result is thirty one equal, with two steps for the chromatic
semitone, three steps for the diatonic semitone, and five steps for the tone where
5*T + 2*S = 25 + 6 = 31 steps. The resulting twelve-tone system closely
approximates to the historically important 1/4 comma meantone.

See also
Just intonation
Musical acoustics (the physics of music)
Music and mathematics
Microtuner
Microtonal music
Piano tuning
List of meantone intervals
Diatonic and chromatic
Electronic tuner
Musical tuning
References
Citations
Sethares compares several equal temperament scales in a graph with axes reversed
from the axes in the first comparison of equal temperaments, and identical axes of
the second. (fig. 4.6, p. 58)
O'Donnell, Michael. "Perceptual Foundations of Sound". Retrieved 2017-03-11.
The History of Musical Pitch in Europe p493-511 Herman Helmholtz, Alexander J.
Ellis On The Sensations of Tone, Dover Publications, Inc., New York
Fritz A. Kuttner. p. 163.
Fritz A. Kuttner. "Prince Chu Tsai-Y�'s Life and Work: A Re-Evaluation of His
Contribution to Equal Temperament Theory", p.200, Ethnomusicology, Vol. 19, No. 2
(May 1975), pp. 163�206.
Kenneth Robinson: A critical study of Chu Tsai-y�'s contribution to the theory of
equal temperament in Chinese music. (Sinologica Coloniensia, Bd. 9.) x, 136 pp.
Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag GmbH, 1980. DM 36. p.vii "Chu-Tsaiyu the first
formulator of the mathematics of "equal temperament" anywhere in the world
Robinson, Kenneth G., and Joseph Needham. 1962. "Physics and Physical Technology".
In Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 4: "Physics and Physical Technology",
Part 1: "Physics", edited by Joseph Needham. Cambridge: University Press. p. 221.
Fritz A. Kuttner. p. 200.
Owen Henry Jorgensen, Tuning (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1991)
The Formation of Chinese Civilization: An Archaeological Perspective, Zhang
Zhongpei, Shao Wangping and others, Yale (New Haven Conn)and New World Press
(Beijing),2005
The Formation of Chinese Civilization, 2005 (opt. cit.), the Eastern Zhou and the
Growth of Regionalism, Lu Liancheng, pp 140 ff
J. Murray Barbour Tuning and Temperament p55-56, Michigan State University Press
1951
??"????"???????? [Findings of new literatures concerning the hepta � equal
temperament] (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2007-10-27. 'Hepta-equal
temperament' in our folk music has always been a controversial issue.
????"??--????????????? [abstract of About "Seven- equal- tuning System"] (in
Chinese). Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-06-25. From the
flute for two thousand years of the production process, and the Japanese shakuhachi
remaining in the production of Sui and Tang Dynasties and the actual temperament,
identification of people using the so-called 'Seven Laws' at least two thousand
years of history; and decided that this law system associated with the flute law.
"Quantifying Ritual: Political Cosmology, Courtly Music, and Precision Mathematics
in Seventeenth-Century China Roger Hart Departments of History and Asian Studies,
University of Texas, Austin". Uts.cc.utexas.edu. Archived from the original on
2012-03-05. Retrieved 2012-03-20.
Science and Civilisation in China, Vol IV:1 (Physics), Joseph Needham, Cambridge
University Press, 1962�2004, pp 220 ff
The Shorter Science & Civilisation in China, An abridgement by Colin Ronan of
Joseph Needham's original text, p385
Gene J. Cho "The Significance of the Discovery of the Musical Equal Temperament in
the Cultural History," http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-XHYY201002002.htm
Archived 2012-03-15 at the Wayback Machine
"EQUAL TEMPERAMENT". University of Houston. Retrieved 2014-10-05.
Thomas S. Christensen, The Cambridge history of western music theory p205,
Cambridge University Press
J. Murray Barbour, Tuning and Temperament Michigan University Press, 1951 p7
[1] "The division of Octave into twelve Semitones, and the transposition of scales
have also been discovered by this intelligent and skillful nation" Hermann von
Helmholtz On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological basis for the theory of
music, p 258, 3rd edition, Longmans, Green and Co, London, 1895
Lau Hanson, Abacus and Practical Mathematics p389 (in Chinese ??? �???????� 389?)
True, Timothy (2018). "The Battle Between Impeccable Intonation and Maximized
Modulation". Musical Offerings. 9 (2): 61�74. doi:10.15385/jmo.2018.9.2.2.
Galilei, V. (1584). Il Fronimo... Dialogo sopra l'arte del bene intavolare. G.
Scotto: Venice, ff. 80�89.
J. Murray Barbour Tuning and Temperament p8 1951 Michigan State University Press
"Resound � Corruption of Music". Philresound.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-03-20.
Giacomo Gorzanis, c. 1525 � c. 1575 Intabolatura di liuto. Geneva, 1982
"Spinacino 1507a: Thematic Index". Appalachian State University. Archived from the
original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
John Wilson, 26 Preludes, Diapason press (DP49, Utrecht)
in "English Song, 1600�1675, Facsimile of Twenty-six Manuscripts and an Edition of
the Texts" vol. 7, Manuscripts at Oxford, Part II. introduction by Elise Bickfoer
Jorgens, Garland Publishing Inc., New York and London, 1987
"Scintille de musica", (Brescia, 1533), p. 132
"Van de Spiegheling der singconst, ed by Rudolf Rasch, The Diapason Press".
Diapason.xentonic.org. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2012-03-20.
Gene Cho, The discovery of musical equal temperament in China and Europe � Page
223, Mellen Press
Gene Cho, The discovery of musical equal temperament in China and Europe � Page
222, Mellen Press
 Thomas S. Christensen, The Cambridge history of western music theory p207,
Cambridge University Press
Thomas S. Christensen, The Cambridge history of western music theory p.78,
Cambridge University Press
"Lutes, Viols, Temperaments" Mark Lindley ISBN 978-0-521-28883-5
Vm7 6214
Andreas Werckmeister: Musicalische Paradoxal-Discourse, 1707
Di Veroli, Claudio. Unequal Temperaments: Theory, History and Practice. 2nd
edition, Bray Baroque, Bray, Ireland 2009, pp. 140, 142 and 256.
Moody, Richard. "Early Equal Temperament, An Aural Perspective: Claude Montal
1836" in Piano Technicians Journal. Kansas City, USA, Feb. 2003.
Helmholtz, Hermann L.F. Lehre von den Tonempfindungen� Heidelberg 1862. English
edition: On the Sensations of Tone, Longmans, London, 1885, p.548.
White, William Braid. Piano Tuning and Allied Arts. 1917, 5th enlarged edition,
Tuners Supply Co., Boston 1946, p.68.
Partch, Harry (1979). Genesis of a Music (2nd ed.). Da Capo Press. p. 134. ISBN 0-
306-80106-X.
Cordier, Serge. "Le temp�rament �gal � quintes justes" (in French). Association
pour la Recherche et le D�veloppement de la Musique. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
Morton, David (1980). "The Music of Thailand", Musics of Many Cultures, p.70. May,
Elizabeth, ed. ISBN 0-520-04778-8.
Myles Leigh Skinner (2007). Toward a Quarter-tone Syntax: Analyses of Selected
Works by Blackwood, Haba, Ives, and Wyschnegradsky, p.55. ISBN 9780542998478.
Monzo, Joe (2005). "Equal-Temperament". Tonalsoft Encyclopedia of Microtonal Music
Theory. Joe Monzo. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
"665edo". xenoharmonic (microtonal wiki). Retrieved 2014-06-18.
"convergents(log2(3), 10)". WolframAlpha. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
3:2 and 4:3, 5:4 and 8:5, 6:5 and 5:3 (sequence A054540 in the OEIS)
3:2 and 4:3, 5:4 and 8:5 (sequence A060525 in the OEIS)
3:2 and 4:3, 5:4 and 8:5, 7:4 and 8:7 (sequence A060526 in the OEIS)
3:2 and 4:3, 5:4 and 8:5, 7:4 and 8:7, 16:11 and 11:8 (sequence A060527 in the
OEIS)
4:3 and 3:2, 5:4 and 8:5, 6:5 and 5:3, 7:4 and 8:7, 16:11 and 11:8, 16:13 and 13:8
(sequence A060233 in the OEIS)
3:2 and 4:3, 5:4 and 8:5, 6:5 and 5:3, 9:8 and 16:9, 10:9 and 9:5, 16:15 and 15:8,
45:32 and 64:45 (sequence A061920 in the OEIS)
3:2 and 4:3, 5:4 and 8:5, 6:5 and 5:3, 9:8 and 16:9, 10:9 and 9:5, 16:15 and 15:8,
45:32 and 64:45, 27:20 and 40:27, 32:27 and 27:16, 81:64 and 128:81, 256:243 and
243:128 (sequence A061921 in the OEIS)
5:4 and 8:5 (sequence A061918 in the OEIS)
6:5 and 5:3 (sequence A061919 in the OEIS)
6:5 and 5:3, 7:5 and 10:7, 7:6 and 12:7 (sequence A060529 in the OEIS)
11:8 and 16:11 (sequence A061416 in the OEIS)
Carlos, Wendy. "Three Asymmetric Divisions of the Octave". wendycarlos.com.
Serendip LLC. Retrieved 2016-09-01.
Milne, A., Sethares, W.A. and Plamondon, J.,"Isomorphic Controllers and Dynamic
Tuning: Invariant Fingerings Across a Tuning Continuum" Archived 2016-01-09 at the
Wayback Machine, Computer Music Journal, Winter 2007, Vol. 31, No. 4, Pages 15-32.
Sources
Cho, Gene Jinsiong. (2003). The Discovery of Musical Equal Temperament in China and
Europe in the Sixteenth Century. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press.
Duffin, Ross W. How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (and Why You Should Care).
W.W.Norton & Company, 2007.
Jorgensen, Owen. Tuning. Michigan State University Press, 1991. ISBN 0-87013-290-3
Sethares, William A. (2005). Tuning, Timbre, Spectrum, Scale (2nd ed.). London:
Springer-Verlag. ISBN 1-85233-797-4.
Surjodiningrat, W., Sudarjana, P.J., and Susanto, A. (1972) Tone measurements of
outstanding Javanese gamelans in Jogjakarta and Surakarta, Gadjah Mada University
Press, Jogjakarta 1972. Cited on
https://web.archive.org/web/20050127000731/http://web.telia.com/~u57011259/pelog_ma
in.htm. Retrieved May 19, 2006.
Stewart, P. J. (2006) "From Galaxy to Galaxy: Music of the Spheres" [3]
Khramov, Mykhaylo. "Approximation of 5-limit just intonation. Computer MIDI
Modeling in Negative Systems of Equal Divisions of the Octave", Proceedings of the
International Conference SIGMAP-2008[permanent dead link], 26�29 July 2008, Porto,
pp. 181�184, ISBN 978-989-8111-60-9
Further reading
Sensations of Tone a foundational work on acoustics and the perception of sound by
Hermann von Helmholtz. Especially Appendix XX: Additions by the Translator, pages
430-556, (pdf pages 451-577)]
External links
Huygens-Fokker Foundation Centre for Microtonal Music
A.Orlandini: Music Acoustics
"Temperament" from A supplement to Mr. Chambers's cyclop�dia (1753)
Barbieri, Patrizio. Enharmonic instruments and music, 1470�1900. (2008) Latina, Il
Levante Libreria Editrice
Fractal Microtonal Music, Jim Kukula.
All existing 18th century quotes on J.S. Bach and temperament
Dominic Eckersley: "Rosetta Revisited: Bach's Very Ordinary Temperament"
Well Temperaments, based on the Werckmeister Definition
FAVORED CARDINALITIES OF SCALES by PETER BUCH
vte
Atonality and post-tonality
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Microtonal music
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Musical tunings
Categories: Equal temperamentsChinese discoveries
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