Microtempering

From TD Xenharmonic Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Any system of temperament in which all of the intervals considered to be consonances of the system are so closely approximated as to be effectively just is a microtemperament. There is no agreed on value for the threshold to microtempering, and here we will use less than a cent in error as our line of demarcation, which some people would call a nanotemperament. Using this definition and the tonality diamond as our consonance set, we find that the equal temperaments 118, 171, 236, 270 ... are 5-limit microtmeperaments; that 171, 270, 441, 612, 643 ... are 7-limit microtemperaments; 764, 836, 1084, 1106 ... are 11-limit microtemperaments, and that 1171, 1178, 1186 ... are 13-limit microtemperaments.

Putting 118 and 171 together, we see that the 5-limit schismatic temperament, which tempers out the schisma of 32805/32768, is a microtemperament when appropriately tuned. Putting 171 and 270 together, we see that ennealimmal temperament, which tempers out the breedsma 2401/2400 and the ragisma 4375/4374 is also a microtemperament.