User Manual

82
6: The Auto-Tune 8 Scales
The following are brief descriptions of the
scales available in Auto-Tune 8:
Modern Equal Temperament
These first three equal-tempered scales
are the ubiquitous scales typically found in
Western tonal music:
Major: a seven-tone equal tempered major
scale.
Minor: a seven-tone equal tempered minor
scale.
Equal Tempered chromatic: a twelve-tone
equal tempered chromatic scale.
Historical Tunings
Ling Lun: a twelve-tone scale dating from
2700 B.C. China.
Scholar’s Lute: a seven-tone scale dating from
300 B.C. China.
Greek diatonic genus: a seven-tone scale from
ancient Greece.
Greek chromatic genus: a seven-tone scale
from ancient Greece.
Greek enharmonic genus: a seven-tone scale
from ancient Greece.
Pythagorean: a twelve-tone scale dating
from 600 B.C. Greece. This scale is derived by
tuning twelve pure perfect fifths upward and
adjusting the octaves downward. This leads
to some pure intervals and some very impure
intervals.
Just (major chromatic): a twelve-tone scale.
Just intonation tunes the most frequently
used intervals to be pure (integer ratios in
frequency). These tunings depend on the
mode (major or minor) and the key. This scale
is tuned for major mode.
Just (minor chromatic): a twelve-tone scale.
Just intonation tunes the most frequently
used intervals to be pure (integer ratios in
frequency). These tunings depend on the
mode (major or minor) and the key. This scale
is tuned for minor mode.
Meantone chromatic: a twelve-tone scale.
This tuning is a combination of Pythagorean
and just tunings so that music in a wider
variety of keys could be playable.
Werckmeister III: a twelve-tone scale. This
scale was a first attempt (about Bach’s time) to
allow an instrument to be played in any scale.
It was in response to this scale that Bach wrote
Well-Tempered Clavier.
Vallotti & Young chromatic: a twelve-tone
scale. Another derivative of the Pythagorean
scale designed to allow arbitrary keys.
Barnes-Bach (chromatic): a twelve-tone
scale. A variation of the Vallotti & Young scale
designed to optimize the performance of
Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier.
Ethnic Tunings
Indian: This 22-tone scale is used in India to
perform ragas.
Slendro: This five-tone Indonesian scale is
played by ensembles called gamelans.
Pelog: This seven-tone Indonesian scale is
more interesting than Slendro and is now the
primary scale in Balinese music.
Arabic 1: This 17-tone scale is the original
Arabic scale adopted from the Pythagorean
scale.
Arabic 2 (chromatic): This twelve-tone scale is
the modern version of the Arabic scale popular
in Arabic music today.