This is a Lumatone set up with a layout for 31 equal divisions of the octave (each key can be configured to send any MIDI note or CC, and be whatever colour I like) connected to my computer which is running the Pianoteq software synth. The way my layout here (known as Wicki-Hayden) works is that / diagonals ascend by perfect fifths and \ diagonals ascend by perfect fourths, so you have whole tones going across on the shallow rising diagonals. This turns each key (as in key signature) into a solid block of the keyboard the same shape as the block of white "natural" keys. There are more piano-like layouts, but I can't seem to get over how nice it is to reach 4 octaves on each hand and have all the nicest intervals so close together. Gold keys are flats, light blue keys are sharps, orange is double flat, darker blue is double sharp, and then purple is the overlap between double sharp and double flat. When you see the rows of 3 keys going across in a block of colour, that's C, D, E, and then the 4 keys going across above those are F, G, A, B, and then C, D, E again in the next octave above that. So this layout plays the same way as an analogous one for the usual 12 equal divisions of the octave, but each key is more in tune overall (you give up a little accuracy in the fifth to bring the thirds and semitones much more in line) and new fun things happen when you reach out of key, or make key changes. The notes just out of key in the sharpward direction on the circle of fifths are good approximations of just ratios of the form 7/n. That means they serve to highlight the 7th harmonic of the root of a chord with one of the harmonics of the higher note in some way, which is something you can't really do in 12 equal. There's also an okayish approximation of the 11th harmonic available (the purple E## that I hit toward the end is the 11th harmonic of C). The frequency ratio between F and G# here, as well as G and A#, is basically 7/6, the septimal minor third. Our normal 6/5 minor third is still available as the interval between F and Ab for instance. The septimal minor third is very characteristic of Middle Eastern music. So this is a door to more types of chords and harmony that have been known about but largely ignored in Western music for the last few hundred years where everyone has been building instruments to the 12 equal standard. The most basic example is that I can turn a dominant seventh chord like C, E, G, Bb into a harmonic seventh chord: C, E, G, A#, which has a 4:5:6:7 ratio of frequencies, and by contrast with the dominant seventh has way less tension -- it doesn't want to move down to F major so much like the dominant seventh does, and is just like an extra rich and creamy C major chord. Barbershop quartets use those all the time, and they're very characteristic of that sound.
Love this. I remember when I first discovered on my guitar how close in pitch 25/16 and 14/9 are, and it blew my mind. Marvel scales are awesome
Fuck yeah I’ve been playing around with this scale on guitar. I love the sound of xenharmonics😍🙏
What instrument is that?!?! The blue keys are microtonal!!🤯
This is a Lumatone set up with a layout for 31 equal divisions of the octave (each key can be configured to send any MIDI note or CC, and be whatever colour I like) connected to my computer which is running the Pianoteq software synth.
The way my layout here (known as Wicki-Hayden) works is that / diagonals ascend by perfect fifths and \ diagonals ascend by perfect fourths, so you have whole tones going across on the shallow rising diagonals. This turns each key (as in key signature) into a solid block of the keyboard the same shape as the block of white "natural" keys. There are more piano-like layouts, but I can't seem to get over how nice it is to reach 4 octaves on each hand and have all the nicest intervals so close together.
Gold keys are flats, light blue keys are sharps, orange is double flat, darker blue is double sharp, and then purple is the overlap between double sharp and double flat. When you see the rows of 3 keys going across in a block of colour, that's C, D, E, and then the 4 keys going across above those are F, G, A, B, and then C, D, E again in the next octave above that.
So this layout plays the same way as an analogous one for the usual 12 equal divisions of the octave, but each key is more in tune overall (you give up a little accuracy in the fifth to bring the thirds and semitones much more in line) and new fun things happen when you reach out of key, or make key changes. The notes just out of key in the sharpward direction on the circle of fifths are good approximations of just ratios of the form 7/n. That means they serve to highlight the 7th harmonic of the root of a chord with one of the harmonics of the higher note in some way, which is something you can't really do in 12 equal. There's also an okayish approximation of the 11th harmonic available (the purple E## that I hit toward the end is the 11th harmonic of C). The frequency ratio between F and G# here, as well as G and A#, is basically 7/6, the septimal minor third. Our normal 6/5 minor third is still available as the interval between F and Ab for instance. The septimal minor third is very characteristic of Middle Eastern music.
So this is a door to more types of chords and harmony that have been known about but largely ignored in Western music for the last few hundred years where everyone has been building instruments to the 12 equal standard. The most basic example is that I can turn a dominant seventh chord like C, E, G, Bb into a harmonic seventh chord: C, E, G, A#, which has a 4:5:6:7 ratio of frequencies, and by contrast with the dominant seventh has way less tension -- it doesn't want to move down to F major so much like the dominant seventh does, and is just like an extra rich and creamy C major chord. Barbershop quartets use those all the time, and they're very characteristic of that sound.