Tunings & traditions
Different musical systems organize pitch through tuning, hierarchy, characteristic motion, phrase grammar, rhythm, form and performance practice. A keyboard mapping can be useful—but it is never the whole tradition.
Three different objects
| Object | What it specifies | What it does not specify |
|---|---|---|
| Tuning | Available or preferred frequency relationships. | Which notes feel central or how a phrase moves. |
| Pitch inventory | A set of positions used in a context. | Intonation, hierarchy, ascent/descent or ornament. |
| Phrase grammar | Characteristic approaches, emphases and directions. | One universal scale formula detached from performance. |
Inventory versus gesture
one 12-TET projection · two different focus patterns0 → 1 → 4 → 5 → 4 → 1 → 0- Hear
- Repeated focus tones and directed approaches become more identifying than an ascending scale.
- Use
- When exploring unfamiliar pitch material without claiming a complete traditional grammar.
- Why it fits
- The implementation names exactly which layer it models and which layers remain missing.
Tempered orientation maps
Arabic maqam & Turkish makam orientationtempered maps, not full seyir or intonation
0 1 4 5 7 8 10A 12-TET projection, not a full maqam practice.
0 1 4 5 7 8 10A 12-TET projection, not a full makam practice.
0 1 3 5 7 8 10A 12-TET pitch map, not a complete maqam or makam description.
Indian raga pitch inventoriesinventory only; ascent, descent and characteristic phrases still matter
0 1 4 5 7 8 11A 12-TET pitch inventory, not a complete raga grammar.
0 1 3 6 7 8 11A 12-TET pitch inventory; ascent, descent, intonation and phrase grammar remain unspecified.
0 2 3 5 7 9 10A 12-TET pitch inventory, not a complete raga grammar.
0 2 4 6 7 9 11A 12-TET pitch inventory; characteristic movement and hierarchy are not encoded.
0 2 4 7 9A 12-TET pitch inventory, not a complete raga grammar.
Chinese pentatonic rotationsGong · Shang · Jue · Zhi · Yu orientation
0 2 4 7 9One tempered pentatonic frame among several Chinese traditions.
0 2 5 7 10A root-relative tempered rotation, not a complete account of Chinese modal practice.
0 3 5 8 10A root-relative tempered rotation, not a complete account of Chinese modal practice.
0 2 5 7 9A root-relative tempered rotation, not a complete account of Chinese modal practice.
0 3 5 7 10A root-relative tempered rotation, not a complete account of Chinese modal practice.
Japanese pitch-collection mappingsnames and rotations vary by instrument, tuning and source
0 2 5 7 9A practical 12-TET mapping; tuning, rotation and naming vary by source.
0 1 5 7 8A tempered pitch-set view, not a complete Japanese performance practice.
0 1 5 6 10A scale-like 12-TET abstraction of a tuning name; rotations and spellings vary.
0 2 3 7 8A common livecoding mapping of a tuning name; sources rotate and spell it differently.
name the modeled layer + name what is missingUse a collection as a constrained exploration surface, then add tradition-specific grammar only from defensible sources.Terms, relations and sources
Key terms
tuningcollectiontradition grammarRelated chapters
Pitch & tuningRhythm & interactionMelody & phraseDetailed lookup
Qualified collection mapsNotation legendEvidence
Editorial sourcesModels state their boundary; tradition-specific claims require specialist sources.