Understanding and Using the Preset Microtuning Tables
Why would I talk about microtunings? Well actually, I got this question from Don Matthews at Brook Mays Pro Shop in Dallas, TX. He has a customer that wanted to tune his Motif ES8 so that when he was playing some of Mozart's music, that it was tuned and sounded similar to the tuning of that era. Don's question prompted me to revisit a part of music that I haven't had much opportunity to talk about in a few years so….looks like my current installment on Clinician's Corner is the perfect time and place to do so.
First of all, let's talk microtuning and define what it is.
This topic could just get plain DEEP so for now, I'd like to keep the explanation very simple and in regards to the tuning features of the MOTIF.
The microtuning presets in the MOTIF/MOTIF ES fall into two categories:
>Tunings divided into 12 semitones or half steps with varied distances between those semitones.
>Tunings dividing the scale into more than 12 tones, i.e. 1/4 tones(24 notes), 1/8 tones(48notes)
Getting to the Microtuning Presets:
Let's start with the basics and select the tuning for a VOICE. After this, I'll define the origins of each preset and comment briefly, regarding WHY you would use this.
1) Select VOICE PRE 001:(A01) AP: Full Grand.
2) Push [EDIT]
3) Push [ SF2] to select PLY MODE
There are two basic settings to adjust on the MOTIF/MOTIF ES:
1) M.Tuning No.- This is where you select from the 12 preset tuning templates.
2) M.TuningRoot- This is where you select the Tuning Root of your template or tuning. This parameter is not available for all of the templates. For the tuning to truly work, you need to select the key that you will be playing in.
Below is a list of some of the choices of tunings within the Motif/Motif ES. Below each tuning name is a brief definition of the tuning. In brackets are some of my notes or suggested applications for these tunings. Aside from the Arabic, 1/4 tone, 1/8 tone and Indian tunings, each tuning preset is indicative of various schools of thought regarding what sounded best on a keyboard. As the keyboard instrument evolved and as more composers wrote for what was becoming the piano, integration of the keyboard with other acoustic instruments became more of a challenge. Orchestral instrumentalists tend to play in Just Intonation, constantly adjusting the intervals as they listen to their fellow musicians.
Equal Temperament
1The “compromise” tuning used for most of the last 200 years of Western music, and found on most electronic keyboards. Each half step is exactly 1/12 of an octave, and music can be played in any key with equal ease. However, none of the intervals are perfectly in tune.
[This is the tuning most people are accustomed to if you have been brought up on music based in the traditions from Europe culture. The Motif /Motif ES Voices default to this tuning. ]
PureMaj (Pure Major)
1This tuning is designed so that most of the intervals (especially the major third and perfect fifth) in the major scale are pure. This means that other intervals will be correspondingly out of tune. You need to specify the key (C~B) you will be playing in.
PureMin (Pure Minor)
1The same as Pure Major, but designed for the minor scale.
Werckmeist (Werckmeister)
2Andreas Werkmeister was a musical theorist of J.S. Bach's day who was concerned with adjusting the tuning of keyboard instruments so that they could be played in any key. It was under this imputes that Bach wrote the famous" Well Tempered Clavier." Contrary to popular belief, this set of pieces written in each of the major and minor keys was not intended for performance in equal temperament. Performed in a temperament such as Werckmeister's, each key exhibits a unique character which Bach himself described in his writings.
Kirnberger
2Johann Phillip Kirnberger wrote a treatise entitled "The Art of Pure Strings in Music" in 1774. He was also concerned with tempering the scale to allow performances in any key. This preset is a tuning for one of Kirnberger's many temperament.
Vallot&Yng(Vallotti & Young)
1Francescatonio Vallotti and Thomas Young (both mid-1700s) devised this adjustment to the Pythagorean tuning, in which the first six fifths are lower by the same amount. 2 This temperament, derived from a key based tuning, is capable of performance in any key. [Musicologist John Barnes has written that what Bach was more than likely to have used was a variation on "mean tone" temperament of Vallotti and Young. Bach certainly knew about equal temperament but would not have used it for himself. Tuning a clavichord in such a manner would make performance difficult since the instruments pitch can be altered depending on how hard the keys are struck. Try playing some of your favorite Bach pieces using this tuning and see what you think.]
1/4 Shift (1/4 Shifted Equal)
1This is the normal equal tempered scale shifted up 50 cents.[So you may be asking yourself, why would I want to be a ¼ tone out of tune from the rest of the world? One reason is to use that ¼ tone distance, as an effect, although a very extreme one. It is very common among modern orchestras to tune up to "A 442 Hz", two cents above the commonly known reference of "A 440 Hz " which was established around 1939. During Handel's time, an common orchestra tuning was about 422 Hz. This in general, makes everything sound a little brighter. Using the ¼ tone Shifted Equal tuning will basically put the "A" tuning reference up to A 489 hertz. Another practical application is if you are composing music where you want to play two musical parts interactively, each instrument is tuned a ¼ tone apart from the other. This creates a brilliant effect between two like instruments that is quite common in the 20th century "avant-guarde" or contemporary genre of music. I myself studied with microtonal composer John Eaton at Indiana University; I believe he is now at the University of Chicago, who has written several pieces of music in this manner, including a piece entitled Microtonal Fantasy. The piece is for two pianos tuned, you guessed it, in equal temperament but tuned a ¼ tone apart.]
1/4 Tone
1Twenty-four equally spaced notes per octave. (Play twenty-four notes to move one octave.) 2 The 1/4 tone preset demonstrates a scale with more than twelve notes per octave. Each pair of consecutive notes forms an interval of roughly 50 cents, or one half of an equally tempered semi-tone. Since the tuning is based on equal temperament, none of the intervals found in the preset are pure.
[So how in the world do you play this? Every four notes is equal to what you are more familiar with as a semitone or half step. Playing a scale involves 48 notes now, instead of 12. Once again, unless you are into atonal music you need to think outside of the box, as to how you can use this in the mainstream of your aspiring pop tune repertoire. ]
1/8 Tone
1Forty-eight equally spaced notes per octave. (Play forty-eight notes to move one octave.)
[This is TWICE as great as the ¼ tone tuning :) ! Every four notes is equal to what you are more familiar with as a semitone or half step. Playing a scale involves 96 notes now, instead of 12. At this point is sounds like even playing with your fingers and toes won't cover playing a scale. Once again, one great application for alternative tuning divisions is for effect. Try using a percussion, bell or chime sound of some sort and tuning it with ¼ tone or 1/8 tone tuning. You can discover a whole new world of sounds that you may not have thought could be produced, just by altering the tuning of a selected VOICE.
For example: select PRE 1 VOICE 75 (E11) CP: Metal Fish. Edit the Voice and change the tuning to 1/8 tone. Actually many of the Chromatic Percussion (CP) sounds yield interesting results with 1/4 tone or 1/8 tone settings.Also, try some of the "pitched" Sound Effect (SE) Voices as well.]
Indian
1Usually observed in Indian music (white keys only).[This is an 8 tone scale. Playing notes other than the white keys will result in a repeated pitch from the previous white key.]
Arabic1, 2 & 3
1Usually observed in Arabic music.[Arabic1 is a 12 tone scale with tones 7(F# in a C scale)and 12 (B in a C scale) altered. Arabic2 is a 12 tone scale with tones 5 (E in a C scale)and 12 (B in a C scale) altered. Arabic3 is a 12 tone scale the 7th tone (F# in a C scale) altered. All of these presets are also dependent upon selecting a key or tuning root.]
1 Motif ES owners manual, page 209
2 "Exploring the Microtunings"DX7 II-FD / D Supplemental Booklet
A Few Final Notes
Other tuning possibilities in the MOTIF/MOTIF ES:
1) You can certainly adjust the entire tuning of the Motif/MotifES in [UTILITY MODE] by pushing [F1] and the [SF1]. These parameters allow you to shift the entire keyboard up or down 24 semitones or half steps, and up or down 102.3 cents.
2) You can also detune any part within a MIX by pushing [EDIT] while in MIXING mode; Push [SF1] to select Tune; These parameters allow you to shift the entire part up or down 24 semitones or half steps, and up or down 12.7cents.
PLG 150-PF and Stretch tuned VOICES:
There are a few Piano Preset Voices on the PLG150 PF that incorporate stretch tuned sounds. This is a tuning technique primarily for pianos, due to the physical nature of the different size, length, and types of the strings inside the instrument. To compensate for this, the general way of defining the stretch tuning technique is to tune from the middle register down the keyboard slightly sharper and from the middle register up the keyboard slightly flatter. Since this is no exact rule in this, although some very common practices, it is apparent why piano tuning is really quite an art. In general you tune slightly greater than an octave so the "beats" disappear when playing octaves.
These stretch tuned Voices are only available in the PLG150-PF, and do not reside in any other current Yamaha synth product.
The stretched tuned sounds can add a definite element of realism and unique nuance to your piano tracks, using the PLG150-PF.
In general, these tunings are all about your tastes and preferences, and deciding what tuning choices are most suited for your application. The tunings are not something that you would necessarily use all the time, but it's good to know that they are there. As my friend Bad Mister often says, "It's your music! Don't you want the best for your music?" It is always good to investigate all of the options.
Check out these tunings and explore what you can do with them. For those of you who want to stick equal temperament and never mess with the tunings, that's just fine too.
It is great to have the alternative tunings available, if you should ever need them. With this in mind, you might say that your Motif will never play out of tune, .....that is, unless you want it to.
TONY
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