Just Intonation and Microtonal Music Links

This material was previously hosted on the Just Intonation Network website. Since no one is maintaining the JIN site, I have relocated the material here. I will try to keep it updated as time permits (most recent update: July 2010). The opinions expressed on the linked pages are those of the authors and I do not necessarily endorse or agree with them.

• Tuning Organizations and Publications
• JI Composers and Theorists
• Alternate Tunings Mailing Lists
• Tuning-Related Software and Hardware
• Tuning-Related Web Applications
• Articles, Lists, and Other Documents

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Tuning Organizations and Publications

• The American Festival of Microtonal Music (AFMM) contains information about this ongoing microtonal concert series in New York City. The AFMM has also published Pitch for the International Microtonalist, a journal devoted to microtonality.
• The Chrysalis Foundation, features justly tuned acoustic instruments designed and built by Cris Forster
• L'Atelier d'Exploration Harmonique, a musical research center created in 1983, situated in south of France between Nice and Marseille, specializes in the creation of new instruments, microtonal research and music creation (text mainly in French).
• Diapason Press is a specialized musicological publishing house with emphasis on works that have special significance in view of the developments of the tonal systems of Western music. The music publications of the Diapason Press are comprised in two series, the General Series and the Corpus Microtonale. The book publications are part of the series Tuning and Temperament Library.
• Experimental Musical Instruments was a quarterly magazine that often includes information about instruments that play in non-standard tunings.
• FreeNote Records has recordings by JI guitarist Jon Catler and co-performers Brad Catler, Jonathan Kane, and Meredith Borden, as well as a book on La Monte Young and Marion Zazeela.
• Frog Peak Music, a publisher/distributor of materials related to experimental music, including alternate tunings.
• The Eivind Groven Institute for Just Intonation is devoted to the work of the Norwegian composer who created a 36-tone-per-octave just organ. The Groven Piano Project at Western Michigan University realizes Groven's ideas by means of three Yamaha Disklaviers controlled by a single keyboard and special pitch-mapping software.
• Interval , a journal edited by Jonathan Glasier from 1978–87 devoted to alternate tunings. Back issues are still available.
• The MELA Foundation is an "interdisciplinary arts organization designed to encourage creative work in the fields of music, the visual arts, and other media" founded by La Monte Young and Marion Zazeela. See also La Monte Young links below.
• MicroFest, the Southern California festival of Microtonal music.
• The Music For People & Thingamajigs Festival features sounds produced from made and/or found objects and alternate tuning systems. Instruments made from bamboo, glass, metal, rocks, homemade electronics and bowed objects will be played by a powerful line-up of SF Bay Area and international artists.
• Newband, a New York ensemble directed by Dean Drummond that performs on Partch instruments.
• Richter Herf-Institute of Basic Research on Music, an Austrian research institute with interests in tuning. In English, German, and Spanish.
• The Sonic Arts Institute and Gallery
• The Society for the Prevervation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA) recognizes Just Intonation as an essential element of this a cappella vocal genre,
• The Southeast Just Intonation Society
• Stichting Huygens-Fokker, a foundation concerned with microtonality via the legacy of Dutch theorist A. D. Fokker.
• The Tuning Lab on SoundClick.com features soundfiles of compositions and works in progress from some of the composers who were formerly on the "tuning punks" site.
• Xenharmonikôn The grandaddy of microtonal publications in the U.S.

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JI Composers and Theorists

Glenn Branca

• Glenn Branca's home page.
• An interview with Glenn Branca from EST magazine.

Alain Danielou

• Alain Danielou, a French ethnomusicologist known for his theories about the intonation of classical Indian music. Within the site is a 53-note per octave instrument called the Semantic. In French, English, and Italian.

Lou Harrison

• The Lou Harrison archives of San Jose State University includes a works list, a discography, biographical materials, and an index to their collection of scores.
• An Interview with Lou Harrison, by David Doty
• The Lou Harrison page of Other Minds, a San Francisco-based organization and festival.
• Another Lou Harrison page from New Albion Records.
• Eva Soltes's Lou Harrison documentary film project
• Lou Harrison lists of the American Music Resource includes a discography, works list, bibliography, etc.
• Interviews with Lou Harrison from SoundCircus, NewMusicBox, and Echo.
• Scores of Lou Harrison are on sale from Frog Peak Music

Ben Johnston

• A Ben Johnston Page from the University of Akron Bierce Library.
• A Ben Johnston Interview from Paris Transatlantic magazine

Pauline Oliveros

• Pauline's personal site with information on all of her musical activities
• The Deep Listening Band, a justly-tuned group in which Pauline Oliveros performs.
• Pauline Oliveros lists of the American Music Resource includes a discography, works list, bibliography, etc.
• A Pauline Oliveros page from Lovely Music.

Harry Partch

• Corporeal Meadows, an extensive site devoted to Partch by Jonathan Szanto. Includes articles.
• The Harry Partch Archive at San Jose State University.
• Harry Partch Information Center maintained by NewBand. They also maintain the Harry Partch Instrument Collection.
• Harry Partch lists of the American Music Resource includes a discography, works list, bibliography, etc.

Terry Riley

• Terry Riley.net. The composer's own home page. Includes list of works, discography, images, and much other information, as well as recordings and scores for sale.
• A Terry Riley page from the Cortical Foundation. Includes biography, articles about Riley, an archive project, upcoming recordings, and other links.
• A Terry Riley page from New Albion Records.
• An interview with Riley from Rhythmos, a San Francisco-based music and culture zine.
• An article about TR in Magnet Magazine

La Monte Young

• The MELA Foundation of La Monte Young and Marion Zazeela has extensive information about Young, Zazeela, Pandit Pran Nath and much more.
• An Interview with La Monte Young, by David Doty.
• An interview with La Monte Young from Halana ezine .
• An article on La Monte Young's Well-Tuned Piano by Kyle Gann .

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Alternate Tuning Mailing Lists

The original Alternate Tunings Mailing List (the tuning list, for short) began at Mills College in 1994. It has since migrated twice and is now a Yahoo Group. In the last few years, several lists for subspecialties (or personalities) have spun off from the original tuning list. Some of these lists were short lived, while others remain active, thought typically with much less activity than the original tuning list. A list of all tuning-related lists can be found in the Tuning2 group. Another Yahoo Group that is not listed at Tuning2 is Paulene Phillips's Just Intonation Organ School.

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Tuning-Related Software and Hardware

• CAL a Cakewalk program by Joe that allows a user to tune a Cakewalk or MIDI file.
• FastTrak, a dynamic intonation MIDI keyboard retuning program.
• Fractal Tune Smithy—create fractal melodies in any tuning through MIDI or a soundcard. For Windows 95/98.
• H-Pi Instruments—Microtonal keyboards, MIDI hardware and software.
• Interval calculator is a tool for musicians working with microtonality, just intonation, or any other activity that requires precise tuning of pitches.
• Intun—Software for playing a MIDI keyboard in perfect tune (just intonation).
• The Just Intonation Ear Trainer is a Macintosh program you can use to test your recognition of just intervals.
• Just Intonation Sequencer is an interface for composing in extended Just Intonation tunings.
• Justonic Tuning, Inc. makes commercial Windows software and optional hardware that dynamically tunes MIDI instruments to just intonation. Includes some information about JI and links to other sites.
• Keyboard temperament analyzer/calculator, a set of free Excel spreadsheets for the analysis of 12-tone temperaments.
• MicroZone by Starr Labs, a microtonal MIDI controller, based on the designs of Erv Wilson.
• nonoctave.com microtuning software includes L'il Miss Scale Oven (commercial), IntervalCalc (artware). For Mac OS.
• Phi Music, commercial software for Windows XP that generates microtonal scales and has the "capacity to alter human brain waves." 14 day trial copy available.
• Reyburn Piano Service is a company that makes commercial software primarily for piano tuners, including CyberTuner, a Macintosh and Windows application that shows frequency information of sounds in real time.
• The Sanderson Accu-Tuner is a hardware tuning device available in several models, with tuning resolution to ±0.005 cents.
• Scala is a very complete freeware editor/librarian/analysis tool for tunings that comes with a large library of scales. Users can create and manipulate scales and send them to various MIDI devices. For Windows, Mac OSX, OpenVMS, Linux, and Unix.
• Tonalsoft™ is a source for downloadable microtonal music production software products.
• TuneLab is a shareware Windows program for tuning.
• World Music Menu Software is commercial software that enables you to play a wide variety of scales from around the world on your synthesizer. For Windows and Mac.
• The Verituner is a new, advanced electronic tuning device. It has 60 pre-installed historical temperaments and the capability of adding addition custom temperaments.
• WinTemper is a freeware tuning program for a Windows computer with a sound card. It features presets for 34 historical temperaments pluse user-defined tunings.
• Zarlino (text in French), a free MIDI sequencer for Windows 95 with source code based on Pythagorean tuning with syntonic commas easily inserted to produce just intonation chords as described in regards to a cappella vocal music by renaissance theorist Gioseffo Zarlino. Includes a historical essay and example files. An American mirror site (text in English) is also available.

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Tuning-Related Web Applications

• The Diamond Marimba Java Applet, a demonstration of microtonal music by Prent Rodgers.
• The Just Intonation Five Limit Lattice: Explore the five-limit lattice.
• The Online Rhythmicon is a virtual Rhythmicon that you can perform in your web browser.

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Articles, Lists, and Other Documents

• An enormous tuning bibliography from the Huygens Fokker Fondation with some links to papers.
• An alternate tuning discography, also from the Huygens Fokker Fondation.
• Tuning by Ratios, a paper by Robert Asmussen.
• Composer Bill Alves's website includes his articles from 1/1 and other publications and his microtonal CDs.
• John Chalmers's page at Sonic-Arts.org includes a biblography of his publications on microtonal theory.
• David Canright's website includes his 1/1 articles and PostScript programs that aid in the refretting of guitars.
• The late Jim Horton's history of experimental music in Northern California
• Corporeal Meadows has a series of articles about Partch and related topics.
• An index of mode names by Manuel Op de Coul.
• John deLaubenfels has realized classical works in dynamically adaptive just intonation and temperaments with software of his design. Requires general midi player.
• Kyle Gann has articles about just intonation and La Monte Young.
• Pourquoi les gammes naturelles ne sont-elles pas symé? and Diffé gammes encore en usage by Pierre Lamothe (in French).
• The Microtonal Synthesis Web Page by John Loffink lists over 200 synthesizers and other electronic instruments capable of performing microtonal scales, along with their specific tuning capabilities. If you're looking for a synthesizer capable of playing in alternate tuning systems, this is the best place to start.
• Mark Nowitzky has articles and sound examples about JI.
• 21st Century Orchestral Instruments: Acoustic instruments for Alternative Tuning Systems by Patrick Ozzard-Low. Includes the full text of a book available for downloading.
• Tonalsoft Encyclopedia of Tuning Terms, compiled by Joe Monzo.
• SoundExamples for Musical Tuning Systems by Erich Neuwirth, an audio introduction to the sounds of tuning systems (for Windows 95/NT with General MIDI only, in English and German).
• The North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island includes microtonal JI instruments and pieces from this possibly mythic place as gathered by Kraig Grady. (Note that the tunings and layouts show a remarkable similarity to those independently developed by Erv Wilson and Grady.)
• Practical Aspects of Marchetto's Tuning by Jay Rahn.
• Harmonic Theory and Just Intonation by Dante Rosati.
• Pythagorean Tuning and Medieval Polyphony by Margo Schulter.
• Relating Tuning and Timbre by William Sethares.
• An Atlas of Consonance by Norman Sohl. An earlier version of this paper appeared in 1/1.
• Hans André Stamm, a composer and organist who has built an "enharmonic organ" in just intonation with 48 tones per octave.
• John Starrett has a large collection of links concerned with many types of alternate tunings.
• Psychoacoustic researcher Ernst Terhardt has pulished many important articles and papers on pitch perception.
• Automatic Just Intonation, a paper by Ray Tomes.
• "In Defense of Just Intonation", a paper by Jonathan Walker from Music Theory Online
• The Erv Wilson archive: the Xenharmonikôn and other articles of the famous tuning theorist reproduced courtesy of Kraig Grady.
• Andrew Heathwaite's Microtonal Listening List is a list of links to microtonal audio.

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