BAIN MUSC 726T
Tuning Theory
Software
WEB-BASED CALCULATORS
Bain, Ratio to Cents
Yacavone, Xen-Calc
- General Purpose Calculators
- Graphing Calculators
- Desmos, Graphing Calculator {Desmos.com}
- Apple, Graphing Calculator {Apple}
- AI Calculators
- Fraction Calculators
Add (+), subtract (-),
multiply (*) and divide (/) fractions
- Calculator Soup
- RapidTables, Fraction Calculator {RapidTables}
- Wolfram Alpha
- Interval Calculators and Players
- Bain, Ratio to
Cents - √
A simple mobile Web app
calculator that converts an interval frequency ratio to
cents and provides the ratio's decimal expansion to three
decimal places.
- Yacavone, Xen-Calc
{About}
- √
A multi-purpose
calculator/converter for microtonal music theory that
supports conversion between cents, just ratios, EDO, FJS,
and color notations. Also provides interval playback.
Advanced
- Nicholson & Sabat, Plainsound Harmonic Space Calculator
{Plainsound.org; User
Guide}
A tool for composers and
musicians who are interested in discovering and working with
properties of intervals tuned in just intonation
- Pierson & Melnikow, Partials Monster {https://partials.monster}
Play intervals based on ratios
found in the harmonic series
- Untwelve, JavaScript Interval Calculator {Untwelve.org}
Calculates rational
approximations (or semi-convergents) and EDO approximations
for a given interval
- Winkler, Just intonation ratio player {Observable}
Play ratio sequences as a scale
or chord
- Zhu, Ratioscore: Just Interval Tool {Humdrum.org}
WEB APPS
Lambdoma Player
Tonality Diamond Player
- Caspar Johannes Walter, Tonality Diamond {casparjohanneswalter.de}
- TonalityDiamond, A Playable Tonality Diamond {TonalityDiamond.com}
Harmonic Series Spiral Player
- Alexander Garsden, Erv's Spiral {Web app}
- Giannotta and Løfvander, Overtones Spiral (1-16) {Suonoterapia.org}
- Nicholson, Harmonic Series Spiral Synth (1-64) {Superparticular.com}
- Norris, Harmonic Series Calculator {MichaelNorris.info}
- Lowengard, The beauty of comparing harmonic intervals {jhhl.net}
Tone Circle Player
- Bretschneider, Notenscheibe – {Notenscheibe.de}
- Radical Data and Media, Harmonagon {Harmonagon.com}
Tone Circle Maker
Villaseñor, Constant
Structure Analyzer {Wilson-tunings.netify.app}
Lattice Maker
Sevish, Scale Workshop 2 {Sevish.com;
Tutorials: Sevish.com;
YouTube;
GitHub}
- √
Villaseñor, Lattice Maker {Wilson-tunings.netlify.app}
- √
- Enter a scale and the program will create a tuning lattice
e.g., enter the just (5-limit)
scale 1/1 9/8 5/4 4/3 3/2 5/3 15/8 and the program will
display the lattice shown in Figure 1
Figure 1. Tuning lattice for the diatonic scale in just
(5-limit) intonation

Keyboard/Scale Web Apps
- Sevish, Scale Workshop 2 {Sevish.com;
Tutorials: Sevish.com;
YouTube;
GitHub}
- √
Design microtonal scales and play them in your web browser
- Plainsound, Hexatone {Plainsound.org}
Customizable touch-screen keyboard with built-in sounds and MIDI
input and microtonal (MIDI Tuning Standard) output
- Terpstra, Keyboard WebApp {Terpstra}
- The
Terpstra Keyboard Concept {YouTube}
Other Apps
- Allami,
Leimma & Aptome {isartum.net}
- Alves, Just
Intonation Ear Trainer
- Jung, PitchGrid
- Kline, Projective Tuning Space {ProjectiveTuningSpace.com}
- Microsoft, Excel {Microsoft}
- Mudd, Just Intonation Explorer {Tommudd.co.uk}
- √
- New Tonality, Xentonal Synthesizer {NewTonality.net}
Calculate dissonance curves
- Nicholson, Tools {superparticular.com}
- Plainsound Harmonic Synth Calculator
- Harmonic Series Spiral Synth
- Relations of tone as an analogy for relations of colour
- The R Project for Statistical Computing {r-project.org}
- Scullard, Interactive Circle of Fifths {randscullard.com}
- Stilner, Moments of Symmetry in equal divisions of the octave
calculator {anaphoria.com}
- Tymoczko, Mad Musical Science {madmusicalscience.com}
- Villaseñor, Tools for exploring some of Erv Wilson's scale
concepts {wilson-tunings.netlify.app}
- Walter, Music Calculators {CasparJohannesWalter.de}
- Wilson Archives, Software Tools {anaphoria.com}
- Wolfram, Demonstrations Project: Exploring Musical Tuning and
Temperament {Wolfram}
iOS APPS
- Satellite, Wilsonic iPad App {Website}
- AudioKit Pro {Website}
- Peterson, iStrobeSoft {PetersonTuners.com}
STANDALONE SOFTWARE
- Bain, String Length and Pitch Interval (SLAPI) {Website}
- Centre for Digital Music, Sonic Visualiser - Visualization,
analysis, and annotation of audio recordings {SonicVisualiser.org}
- Microsoft, Excel {Microsoft}
- Semantic Danielou – https://www.semantic-danielou.com
- Sygyt Software UG, Voce Vista {VoceVista.com}
Software for singers, singing teachers, speech language
pathologists and anyone who analyzes sound
SCALA
Scala, by Op de Coul {WP}
Scala is an advanced application for tuning theory. It is
freeware that runs on Windows, MacOS, and Linux.
Features:
- Create and archive microtonal/xenharmonic musical scales
- Analyze and transform scales with built-in theoretical tools
- Play scales using an on-screen keyboard or external MIDI
keyboard
- Export scale data to software synthesizers
Links:
- Third-Party Tutorials:
- Other:
- Garritan, Aria Player, Scala file reference {Garritan}
MICROTONES IN ELECTRONIC
MUSIC
Getting Started
- Zheanna Erose, How to Microtune Easily {YouTube}
- Sevish, Using Microtones in Electronic Music (2020) {YouTube}
- Xenharmonic Wiki, List of Microtonal Software Plugins {XW}
- Xenharmonic Wiki, List of DAWs {XW}
- Sevish, Scale Workshop 3 {Plainsound}
DAWS & PLUGINS
DAWs
List of DAWs {XW}
- Ableton,
Live {Website}
- Ableton
Live 12 now supports different tuning systems beyond
12-tone equal temperament (or 12-TET) {Ableton}
- Max
for Live, Microtuner by Ableton {Ableton}
- Apple,
Logic Pro X {Website}
- Overview
of Tuning in Logic Pro {Apple.com}
- Show Advanced Tools
- Logic Pro X > Preferences >
Advanced Tools > Show Advanced Tools
- Set
Scale (fixed, 12 tones)
- File > Project Settings > Tuning
> Software Instrument Scale
- Cockos,
Reaper {Website}
- Image-Line
Software, FL Studio {Website}
- Reason
Studios, Reason {Website}
- Steinberg,
Cubase {Website}
Plugins
Xenharmonic Wiki, List of Microtonal Software
Plugins {XW}
- Arturia, Pigments
- Node Audio, Entonal Studio {entonal.studio}
- Fluid Synth: A Soundfont Synthesizer {fluidsynth.org}
- MTS compatible soundfonts for Fluidsynth (2023) {Plainsound}
- Hπ Instruments
- Infinitone: Dynamic Micro-Tuning Software {infinitone.com}
- Modartt, Pianoteq {Modartt.com}
- Naitive Instruments, Kontakt {Native-Instruments.com}
- Spectrasonics, Omnisphere
- Xfer, Serum
KEYBOARDS & MIDI
Keyboards
- Hπ Instruments
- Intuitive Instruments, Exquis {https://dualo.com}
- Lumatone Isomorphic Keyboard {www.lumatone.io; YouTube}
- Roli keyboards {roli.com}
MIDI
- MIDI {WP; Midi.org}
- Ways to microtune:
- MIDI Pitch bend {WP}
- MIDI Tuning Standard (MTS) {WP}
- MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) {MIDI.org;
ROLI}
Links
Plainsound Music Edition, Just
Intonation & Microtonal Resources – https://www.plainsound.org
The Wilson Archives, Tools and Treasures:
Software: Tools for Exploring Some of Erv Wilson's Scale
Concepts – https://www.anaphoria.com/wilsontreasure.html
Xeharmonic Wiki, List of DAWs {XW}; List of Music Software {XW};
List
of Microtonal Software Plugins {XW}
References
Gann, Kyle. 2019. The Arithmetic
of Listening: Tuning Theory and History for the Impractical
Musician. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. {GB; Full
text: TCL;
Audio Examples}
Mogini, Fabrice. 2011. "Ch. 17
Alternative Tunings with SuperCollider." In The SuperCollider
Book, edited by Scott Wilson, David Cottle, and Nick
Collins. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. {GB}
Updated: January 13, 2026