Topmusicanswers
- How does just intonation work?
- What is wrong with just intonation?
- Why does just intonation sound better?
- Can you tune a guitar to just intonation?
How does just intonation work?
In music, just intonation or pure intonation is the attempt to tune all musical intervals as whole number ratios (such as 3:2 or 4:3) of frequencies. An interval tuned in this way is said to be pure, and may be called a just interval; when it is sounded, no beating is heard.
What is wrong with just intonation?
Just intonation is extremely impractical for instruments that play chords (guitar or piano), or any instrument with fixed pitches which cannot bend, such as vibraphone or marimba. How many keys do you want in an octave on your keyboard? In the Baroque period, 12-tone equal temperament had not yet been invented.
Why does just intonation sound better?
Our brains tell us that the first interval is more consonant, simply because it requires less effort to process than the second one. ... However, the further an interval strays from a nice simple ratio, the harsher it will tend to sound. Intervals that do not form perfect small number ratios with each other produce beats.
Can you tune a guitar to just intonation?
You can't do Just Intonation. The frets are 12TET.
