Re: specific temperament and pitch

[Hans Aberg]

On 10 Feb 2008, at 21:25, neuro wrote:

> >  but rather a MIDI-to-sound problem.
>
> Yes. That's Right.

Actually, there are two different problems: Some music makes use of  
more than 12 pitches per octave, and then it is good to get LilyPOnd  
write it directly.

> That's actually what I was asking.
>
> How can we make lilypond's midi file play in different tuning  
> systems, in different pitchs, and/or in a flexible way, (e.g. when  
> I would like all the major 3rds of every major chord in a piece --  
> so it's not a fixed certain notes, but rather, a condition for  
> certain notes --  to be played "just intonation" or otherwise tuned.)
> (Before my final decision of how the pitches should be tuned or  
> played, so to be heard.)

This can be used in Timidity using the -Z option on a tuning file:
  timidity -Z <tuning> <midi>

Such files can be created using Scala (see below).

> Actually, I was trying to convince my ears first that,
> "the major 3rds of every major chord in a tonic piece should be  
> played a little bit lower -- as 'just intonation' tuned, rather  
> than 12-equal temperamented," and hoping Lilypond's midi could play  
> that way.

Try 53-ET and 31-ET in say Scala (see below). In 53-ET, the  
Pythagorean tuning the major scale is
  9 9 4 9 9 9 4
and the Just major is
  9 8 5 9 8 9 5
So it is easy to compare. 31-ET plays the interval 5/4 very exactly. See
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/31_equal_temperament
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/53_equal_temperament

> So, it it possible?
> If so, how?

For this, use say Scala <http://www.xs4all.nl/~huygensf/scala/>. You  
can try out chords, scales modes, create tuning files for Timidity,  
and retune MIDI files directly.

  Hans Åberg