TUNING SYSTEMS

Live 12’s new Tunings system is your invitation to explore alternative tunings and microtones.

With Live 12 came the ground‑breaking Tunings feature that has the potential to change the sound of modern music. A bold claim perhaps, but the ability to easily try different tuning systems means it’s now simple to experiment. Despite the ease of changing tunings, the feature can seem daunting at first and that can be off‑putting, which would be a shame, as in my opinion, alternative tunings lend themselves particularly well to electronic music.

It’s true that some artists have been doing this for years. I’ve always felt that one of Aphex Twin’s ‘secret sauces’ is his liberal use of detuned melodies, creating a frisson against more conventionally tuned elements. Experimental artists like Wendy Carlos, Pauline Oliveros and La Monte Young have also been composing in alternative tunings for decades. And users of vintage analogue synths have inadvertently been dabbling in microtones for many years!

To use the old cliché, the standard western tuning system is like the water we musical fish swim around in. We might notice when singers are ‘out of tune’, but we barely think about what that ‘in tune’ is referencing. In comparison to equal temperament (the western default), all of these new Live 12 tunings are ‘out of tune’... but if you immerse yourself in them, they can be as refreshing as a wild swim in new harmonic waters!

In this article I will outline the main categories of tunings available in Live 12, and the uses to which the creative musician might put them — from the simple‑but‑effective to the outright wild and bizarre. Perhaps the future of music may lie somewhere within these systems... and there’s only one way to find out!

READ FULL ARTICLE (FOR FREE) ON SOUND ON SOUND WEBSITE:

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/ableton-live-12-tuning-systems