In this set of listening examples, common practice works have been retuned to exotic tunings in which the relative structure of the diatonic scale is always preserved, so that it always takes the form of LLsLLLs (for "Large step" and "small step," respectively). The perfect fifth, which generates the scale, is allowed to vary from as flat as 7-EDO, where the diatonic scale is a perfectly evened-out "neutral" diatonic scale, to as sharp as 5-EDO, where the half step becomes so small that it vanishes, leaving a perfectly evened-out pentatonic scale.

The chosen spectrum of tunings is such that diatonic interval categories such as the "major third" may, at times, approximate different intervals from the harmonic series than they normally would in 12 equal temperament, just as long as the LLsLLLs scale pattern is consistently present in the tuning. These experiments aim to explore the properties of the "categorical perception" effect, and to see to what extent it exists and interrelates with the missing fundamental phenomenon and other psychoacoustic effects.

The "artwork" for this compilation describes the tunings used, and the properties of each one; click "Download Artwork" to view it.

In this particular set, the chosen composition is Bach's Fugue in C Major (BWV952).

Bach - Fugue in C Major (BWV952) - 17-EDO

This is mostly goofy experimental music theory stuff to see how different microtonal scales sound - no real musical compositions here (yet)

Bach - Fugue in C Major (BWV952) - 17-EDO

Mike Battaglia