Topmusicanswers
Ideas for guitar-like alternate piano tunings?
- reverse the whole keyboard.
- reverse each octave.
- make C through F# play the diatonic C notes, and G through B the sharps.
- swap the sharps/naturals after F in each octave (white notes play a whole tone)
- split keyboard, both playing same octaves ("teacher/student mode")
- What tuning system is used for the modern piano?
- Can a piano be tuned differently?
- What is the modern tuning system called?
- Are pianos tuned to 440?
What tuning system is used for the modern piano?
Pianos are usually tuned to a modified version of the system called equal temperament. (See Piano key frequencies for the theoretical piano tuning.) In all systems of tuning, every pitch may be derived from its relationship to a chosen fixed pitch, which is usually A440 (440 Hz), the note A above middle C.
Can a piano be tuned differently?
Unlike guitars or violins where there is an established standard for how each string should be tuned, pianos are all tuned differently. This means that if you were to compare two freshly tuned pianos the notes would not match, even though each piano sounds in tune with itself.
What is the modern tuning system called?
In musical tuning, a temperament is a tuning system that slightly compromises the pure intervals of just intonation to meet other requirements. Most modern Western musical instruments are tuned in the equal temperament system.
Are pianos tuned to 440?
In 1953, a worldwide agreement was signed. Signatories declared that middle “A” on the piano be forevermore tuned to exactly 440 Hz. This frequency became the standard ISO-16 reference for tuning all musical instruments based on the chromatic scale, the one most often used for music in the West.
