🎼 Microtonal Tuner
Adjust tuning in cents for non-standard scales and microtonal music with precise frequency control
Your Result:
A4 + 25 cents → 451.25 Hz
Quarter-tone sharp • Microtonal Tuning
🎵 Tuned Frequency Example
📊 Cents Visualization Example
How to Use This Microtonal Tuner
How to Use the Microtonal Tuner:
- Select your base note from the chromatic scale (C, C#, D, etc.)
- Choose the octave number (4 = middle octave, A4 = 440Hz concert pitch)
- Adjust cents using the slider or enter precise values (-100 to +100 cents)
- Optional: Select a predefined tuning system (quarter-tone, just intonation, etc.)
- Choose waveform type (sine wave recommended for pure tuning tones)
- Set duration and volume for the generated audio
- Click "Generate Microtonal Tone" to hear and download your precisely tuned frequency
Pro Tips: Use frequency analysis mode to see exact Hz values and cent relationships. Quarter-tone intervals (+50/-50 cents) are common in Middle Eastern music, while sixth-tones (+33/-33 cents) appear in some contemporary classical compositions.
How It Works
Advanced Microtonal Tuning Technology:
Our microtonal tuner uses precise mathematical calculations to generate frequencies between standard semitones:
- Base Frequency Calculation: Starts with standard equal temperament frequencies for each note and octave
- Cents Conversion: Applies the formula: frequency × 2^(cents/1200) to adjust pitch by cents
- Microtonal Precision: Supports adjustments from -100 to +100 cents with 1-cent resolution for precise intonation
- Tuning System Presets: Includes quarter-tone (50¢), sixth-tone (33.33¢), and historical tuning systems
- Real-time Audio Generation: Uses Web Audio API oscillators for accurate frequency synthesis
- Visual Feedback: Displays cent deviations, frequency relationships, and tuning system context
- Professional Output: Generates downloadable WAV files for use in digital audio workstations
- Cross-platform Compatibility: Works in all modern browsers without plugins or external software
The tool maintains mathematical precision throughout the conversion process, ensuring microtonal intervals are accurate for professional music composition, instrument calibration, and ethnomusicology research.
When You Might Need This
- • Middle Eastern Music Composition - Generate quarter-tone intervals (50 cents) commonly used in Arabic maqams and Turkish makams for authentic microtonal melodies
- • Contemporary Classical Music - Create sixth-tone and eighth-tone intervals for modern compositions exploring extended pitch relationships beyond 12-tone equal temperament
- • Just Intonation Tuning - Generate pure harmonic ratios for historical and world music instruments that use natural mathematical frequency relationships
- • Instrument Calibration - Tune ethnic instruments like ouds, sitars, and gamelan to precise microtonal scales with exact cent adjustments for authentic performance
- • Electronic Music Production - Design unique microtonal scales for ambient, experimental, and world fusion tracks in digital audio workstations and synthesizers
- • Music Theory Education - Demonstrate pitch relationships, harmonic series, and alternative tuning systems for advanced music students and composers
- • Audio Software Testing - Generate precise reference tones for testing pitch detection algorithms, tuning applications, and audio analysis software accuracy
- • Ethnomusicology Research - Document and analyze traditional music scales from various cultures that use microtonal intervals not found in Western music
- • Guitar and Fretless Instrument Practice - Create backing tracks with microtonal pitches for practicing intonation on fretless guitars, violins, and wind instruments
- • Sound Design and Film Scoring - Generate otherworldly or ethnic-inspired tones for movie soundtracks, video games, and multimedia projects requiring unique harmonic content
Frequently Asked Questions
What are cents and how do they relate to musical pitch?
Cents are the standard unit for measuring pitch intervals. One semitone (half-step) equals 100 cents, so there are 1200 cents in an octave. A cent is 1/100th of a semitone, allowing precise microtonal adjustments. For example, +50 cents raises a note by a quarter-tone, while -25 cents flattens it by an eighth-tone.
How accurate are the microtonal frequencies generated by this tool?
The tool uses precise mathematical calculations with the formula frequency × 2^(cents/1200) for cent adjustments. All frequencies are calculated to multiple decimal places and generated using Web Audio API oscillators, providing professional-grade accuracy suitable for music composition, research, and instrument calibration.
What's the difference between quarter-tone and other microtonal systems?
Quarter-tones divide semitones in half (50 cents), commonly used in Middle Eastern music. Sixth-tones (33.33 cents) and eighth-tones (25 cents) create even smaller intervals for contemporary classical music. Just intonation uses natural harmonic ratios instead of equal divisions, producing pure but unequal intervals.
Can I use these generated tones in my music production software?
Yes, the tool generates downloadable WAV files that work in all digital audio workstations (DAWs) like Pro Tools, Logic, Ableton Live, and Reaper. You can import these microtonal reference tones for tuning virtual instruments, sampling, or as guide tracks for recording microtonal music.
Why would someone need microtonal tuning instead of standard 12-tone equal temperament?
Microtonal tuning allows access to pitch relationships not available in standard Western music. It's essential for authentic performance of Middle Eastern, Indian, and other world music traditions, enables new harmonic possibilities in contemporary composition, and provides historically accurate intonation for early music and just intonation systems.