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"The tale grew in the telling." The manual
for alt-tuner comes with a primer on tuning theory. They're both in
one PDF because there's a lot of overlap. The primer is a work in
progress, parts IV and V are unfinished. It's currently about 180
pages long. The manual for alt-tuner is about 120 pages long.
If you like the book, please consider a small donation to support my efforts.
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Alternative
Tunings: Theory, Notation and Practice, including the alt-tuner
manual
309 page pdf, last updated: October 24, 2016
Part I – An Introduction to Just Intonation
Chapter 1.1 – A Parable (800 years of Western tuning practice as personified by King Duplius and his wives)
Chapter 1.2 – Ratios, Cents, Primes, and Limits (covers the basic concepts of tuning theory)
Chapter 1.3 – The Harmonic Lattice (explains lattices, a powerful tool for exploring relationships beteween notes)
Part II – JI Color Notation (a non-mathematical way to talk about frequency ratios)
Chapter 2.1 – Interval Names (red, yellow, green and blue intervals)
Chapter 2.2 – Commas and Wolves (larger lattices and the troublesome intervals they contain)
Chapter 2.3 – Note Names (applies the color notation to A, B, C#, etc.)
Chapter 2.4 – Chord Names (names for over 50 different 7-limit chords)
Chapter 2.5 – Chord Progressions, Scales, Keys and Modulations (applies the color notation to entire songs)
Chapter 2.6 – JI Staff Notation (combines the color notation with standard sheet music notation)
Chapter 2.7 – Chord Voicings (how to find the most consonant voicing of a 7-limit chord using all-odd-numbers ratios)
Part III – Further Out (the extended harmonic lattice and higher primes)
Chapter 3.1 – Remoteness Classes (how to compare ratios)
Chapter 3.2 – Really Remote Intervals (an extremely large lattice, and the patterns it reveals)
Chapter 3.3 – Paradoxical Intervals (negative 2nds and upside-down intervals)
Chapter 3.4 – Purple Intervals (neutral intervals in 7-limit JI)
Chapter 3.5 – The Expanded Harmonic Lattice (the deep blue and deep red planes, and how they relate)
Chapter 3.6 – 11-limit and 13-limit Intervals (ratios with higher prime limits)
Chapter 3.7 – Higher Primes: 17, 19, and Beyond (even higher prime limits)
Chapter 3.8 – Using Higher Primes in Chords (Aug chords, dim7 chords, flat-9 chords, etc.)
Part IV – Temperaments (unfinished)
Chapter 4.1 – Basic Tempering (EDOs, scale step sizes, and moment of symmetry scales)
Chapter 4.2 – JI-centric Tempering (examples of comma pumps, shifts and drifts)
Chapter 4.3 – Meantone Temperament (tempering out the green comma)
Chapter 4.4 – Other Commas (lattice rank)
Chapter 4.5 – Temperament Names Part I (color names for single-comma temperaments)
Chapter 4.6 – Periods and Generators (non-octave periods, non-fifth generators)
Chapter 4.7 – Adaptive Tuning With Alt-tuner (making just intonation work with any chord progression)
Chapter 4.8 – Temperament Names Part II (color names for multi-comma temperaments)
(unfinished, more chapters to come)
Part V – Alternative Frameworks (unfinished)
Chapter 5.1 – Frameworks (addresses the question "how many notes to an octave?" from a world music perspective)
Chapter 5.2 – The 12-tone Framework (why 12 tones implies either a heptatonic or pentatonic framework)
Chapter 5.3 – Pentatonicism (what music theory would be like if there were only 5 notes per octave)
Chapter 5.4 – The 19-tone Framework (how to tune and notate a 19-tone keyboard)
Chapter 5.5 – The 22-tone Framework: Ups and Downs (how to tune and notate a 22-tone keyboard)
Chapter 5.6 – 22-tone Staff Notation with Ups and Downs (Using ^ and v to notate "Tibia")
Chapter 5.7 – Other Frameworks: The Scale Tree (how to notate any EDO or framework)
Chapter 5.8 – Chord Names and Scale Names (A upminor, D downmajor, etc.)
Chapter 5.9 – Guitar Frettings: Edos and Udos (how to make your own cable-tie frets)
(unfinished, more chapters to come)
Appendices
Glossary/Index
A Guide to Shorthand Notation
A Guide to Microtonal Terms
Part VI – The Alt-tuner Manual
Chapter 6.1 – Overview & Setup
Chapter 6.2 – Quick Start: Basic Operation
Chapter 6.3 – Alt-keyswitcher
Chapter 6.4 – Basic Alt-tuner Preference Screens
Chapter 6.5 – Multi-keyboard Setups
Chapter 6.6 – Recording With Alt-tuner
Chapter 6.7 – Advanced Preference Screens
Chapter 6.8 – Advanced Topics
Chapter 6.9 – Advanced Examples
Chapter 6.10 – Hardware & Software Issues
Chapter 6.11 – Troubleshooting and Other Considerations
Chapter 6.12 – Customizing Alt-tuner
Appendix 1 – 3000 Ratios
Appendix 2 – Alt-tuner Flowchart
Appendix 3 – List of Clickable Items
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