Modern Standard

Modern Western music — orchestral, chamber, solo, and popular — operates on equal temperament as the universal standard. All fixed-pitch instruments (piano, guitar, woodwinds, brass, and electronic instruments) are manufactured and tuned to equal temperament. Understanding equal temperament and its tradeoffs is essential for all modern musicians.

Recommended Temperaments

Equal Temperament The universal standard for all modern Western music. Required for piano, guitar, woodwinds, brass, and all fixed-pitch instruments. Enables unlimited modulation across all 24 keys. Just Intonation (Major) The theoretical ideal that equal temperament approximates. Understanding just intonation explains why string players and singers naturally adjust their pitch away from equal temperament in slow, sustained passages. Pythagorean Tuning The natural intonation tendency of string players on melodic passages. Knowing Pythagorean tuning explains the sharp leading tones and expressive intonation that string sections use. Werckmeister III The most important historical precursor to equal temperament. Understanding well temperaments clarifies why equal temperament was adopted — flexibility across all keys without wolf intervals.

Practical Guidance

Practical guidance: Equal temperament is the only practical choice for most modern performance contexts. It enables free modulation across all 24 major and minor keys and ensures compatibility between all instruments. The tradeoff is slightly impure intervals: major thirds are 13.7 cents sharp of just, minor thirds are 15.6 cents flat. String players and singers often instinctively correct these — which is musically desirable but can cause tuning conflicts with piano. Use Tunable to match the equal-tempered A=440Hz reference and verify instrument calibration.

Instruments for This Context

PianoViolinViolaCelloFluteOboeAcoustic GuitarTrumpetFrench HornBass

Tune with the Right Temperament — Get Tunable.

Tunable supports all 4 recommended temperaments for Modern Standard — and 16 tuning systems total. See exact Hz values in real time as you play.

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Related Pages

All Temperaments String EnsembleChoral & VocalKeyboard — Classical Note Frequencies Tone Generator