At some point in our musical education, we’re taught that there are 12 notes in Western music – the white and black keys on a piano. This 12-tone equal temperament system provides the foundation for nearly all of the melodies and harmonies in classical, jazz, pop, rock, and other genres.
But what if that’s only part of the story? What if, between the cracks of those 12 fixed piano keys, exists a boundless universe of unique musical notes, intervals, and tonal colors waiting to be discovered?
In reality, there are countless more musical notes than the conventional 12 that make up the chromatic scale. From microtonal inflections smaller than a semi-tone to alternate tunings dividing the octave into 19, 22, or 53 notes, the sonic possibilities stretch far beyond the Western musical paradigm.
How Many Musical Notes Are There: Table of Contents
In this deep exploration, we’ll encounter forms of tuning, technique, and tonality that transcend the tempered 12-tone system most musicians take for granted. We’ll look at microtonality in diverse global genres, modern tools for xenharmonic creation, and composers expanding music’s frontiers.
You’ll discover that the 12-note scale is merely one framework, a tuning “compromise” that facilitates composition and performance in a way – but listening to music through a more universal lens reveals striking new dimensions of tone, texture, and expression.
Whether you’re a music producer, student, engineer, performer, or simply a fan who wants to go beyond theory 101, this journey unveils new truths about the infinite potential of musical notes. Let’s begin unraveling centuries of convention and open our ears to music’s full richness.
The 12 Note Foundation of Western Music Theory
The concept of 12-tone equal temperament dominates modern Western musical thought. But how did this particular tuning system become so deeply ingrained?
The 12 Note Chromatic Scale
The backbone of Western music theory is the 12-note chromatic scale, consisting of the pitches C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, and B. On a standard piano keyboard, these 12 unique musical notes repeat in different octaves up and down the instrument.
This framework provides the raw ingredients for major scales, minor scales, modes, melodies, and harmonies within Western classical, pop, jazz, and other genres. The 12 notes form the DNA that composers combine in countless ways to create musical works.
The Evolution of 12-TET Tuning
Today’s standard 12-note tuning is known as 12-tone equal temperament (12-TET). This means the octave is divided into 12 equal segments, with each semitone or half-step spaced exactly 100 cents apart.
But this familiar tuning system evolved over centuries:
- In ancient Greece, Pythagoras defined the mathematical relationships behind consonant intervals, laying foundations for just intonation tuning.
- In the Middle Ages, pipe organs necessitated the development of temperaments enabling harmony across more keys.
- By the 1600s, well temperaments like Werckmeister’s and Kirnberger’s allowed composition in all major and minor keys by subtly altering tuning.
- In the late 19th century, 12-TET emerged as a standard backed by convention and advanced piano engineering.
So while not an acoustic imperative, 12-TET became dominant based on its balance between consonance, flexibility for composition, and practicality for instruments.
Theoretical Reinforcement of 12 Notes
Beyond acoustic and engineering considerations, Western music theory also evolved to reinforce the primacy of the 12-note chromatic framework:
- Musical concepts like intervals, chords, and scales are all based on the relationships between 12 pitches.
- Common broad categories like diatonic, chromatic, whole-tone, and pentatonic derive from 12-tone structures.
- Counterpoint, voice leading, and harmony take 12-TET as a given when discussing consonance, dissonance, and resolution.
This theoretical reinforcement over centuries of canon solidified 12 musical notes as the DNA of Western musical language. But as we’ll see next, understanding the origins of 12-TET tuning enables us to think beyond its conventions and limitations.
Discovering Microtones and Alternate Tuning Systems
While 12-tone equal temperament dominates Western music, exploring beyond its boundaries reveals a wider world of tonality. Let’s look at microtones and xenharmonic tuning systems that subvert conventional scales.
Understanding Microtones
Microtones refer to musical intervals that are smaller than 100 cents – the space between each note in the 12-tone system. For example, a quarter tone is only 50 cents wide.
Microtones allow far subtler inflections in pitch compared to the coarse half and whole step intervals of 12-TET. They provide new colors for melodies and textures for harmonies outside traditional Western music theory.
Some examples of microtones include:
- Quarter tones – 50 cent interval, prevalent in Arabic and Turkish maqam music
- Three-quarter tones – 25 cent interval, found in traditional Indian ragas
- Sixth-tones – ~16.7 cent interval, proposed by Mexican composer Julián Carrillo
- Multiplicative microtones – like 5th, 7th, 11th partial tones relative to a base pitch
Microtonal ornamentation using rapid pitch inflections is an important part of non-Western traditions. And even some Western classical composers like Charles Ives and Harry Partch used microtones in their avant-garde works.
Xenharmonic Tuning Systems
Xenharmonic tuning systems take microtonality further by completely redividing the octave into intervals besides the 12 equal steps of standard tuning. Some examples include:
- 19-TET – 19-tone equal temperament, dividing the octave into 19 equal parts
- 22-TET – 22-tone equal temperament, popular among microtonal guitarists
- 31-TET – 31-tone equal temperament, provides near just intonation
- 53-TET – 53-tone equal temperament, matches the 53rd harmonic well
- 72-TET – 72-tone equal temperament, enables highly complex microtonal music
Xenharmonic systems with larger note densities can enable very precise just intonation across more keys. But even the simpler ones provide new harmonic and melodic horizons to explore.
Microtonality in World Music
Stepping outside the Western avant-garde bubble, microtonality is integral to diverse global musical traditions. For example:
- Arabic maqam scales utilize quarter tones to create modes with 24 evenly spaced musical notes.
- Indian ragas incorporate ornamental microtones and pitch slides between the semitone steps.
- Indonesian gamelan ensemble music derives its shimmer from interlocking parts played on finely tuned metallophones.
Non-Western genres seamlessly integrate microtonality into their instrumental technique and theory. Exposure to these international sounds opens our ears to new possibilities.
Performing and Composing with Microtones
Microtones offer captivating new territory, but how can musicians actually access these musical notes in practice? With some creativity, both acoustic and electronic instruments can be coaxed into the microtonal realm.
Microtones on Acoustic Instruments
Many acoustic instruments can play microtones with some adjustments:
- Fretless string instruments like violin and guitar can fluently play microtones through light finger pressure at different positions.
- Vocalists can sing quarter-tones, three-quarter tones, and other microintervals with dedicated practice and ear training.
- Brass and woodwinds can reach microtones through alternate fingerings, embouchures, and half-valve techniques.
- Fretted strings can be tuned to common microtonal scales and arpeggios. Some guitarists add extra movable frets.
Mastering these microtonal techniques takes time. But patient exploration expands most acoustic instruments beyond the 12-note paradigm.
Microtonal Composition with Technology
Digital tools dramatically empower microtonal composition:
- DAWs like Ableton Live and FL Studio support tuning files for microtonal scales.
- Software synthesizers like Pianoteq and U-He Diva enable microtonal mapping and tuning.
- MIDI keyboards can be remapped to control custom microtonal scales with precision.
- Retunable hardware like the Seaboard and Linnstrument provide nuanced continuous pitch control.
- Online platforms share microtonal instruments and resources. For example, the Farey temperament library on Facebook.
Thanks to technology, Xenharmonic music creation is more accessible than ever before. Next we’ll look at instrument pioneers who designed entirely new microtonal devices.
Microtonal Instrument Builders
Some pioneering composers took microtonal music making even further by constructing entirely new instruments specially designed for alternate tunings.
The eccentric American composer Harry Partch created an entire 43-tone microtonal language. To realize this vision, he hand-built elaborate instruments with names like the Quadrangularis Reversum and Chromelodeon, often using found objects as material.
Partch’s instrumentation enabled him to fully integrate microtonality into every aspect of his compositions. Thanks to technology, today’s instrument designers can continue this experimental legacy, freed by digital fabrication and customizable electronic components.
A Universe of Musical Notes: Microtonality Beyond 12-TET
While still niche, some daring composers have explored the creative possibilities of microtonality and xenharmonics. Let’s look at a few pioneering artists who ventured beyond 12-tone equal temperament.
Early 20th Century Microtonal Composers
In the early 1900s, some avant-garde Western composers incorporated microtones to push boundaries:
- American Charles Ives wrote radical quarter-tone works for two pianos like his Quarter-Tone Chorales.
- Czech Alois Hába composed microtonal operas and string quartets using quarter-tone and sixth-tone systems.
- Mexican Julián Carrillo proposed dividing the octave into 24 and even 96 equal parts, developing new microtonal notation.
These musicians expanded ideas of harmony and tonality using the new notes in music and intervals unlocked through microtonality. But Harry Partch took these concepts furthest.
Harry Partch and 43-Tone Tuning
The iconoclastic American composer Harry Partch completely broke from 12-tone equal temperament. He devised a radical 43-tone tuning system using just intonation principles.
To realize this vision, Partch designed and hand-built elaborate new microtonal instruments like the Chromelodeon organ and Adapted Viola. His compositions fuse microtonal harmony, multimedia, and theatricality, envisioning a new sonic language.
Partch delved deeper into microtonal expression than any predecessor. His instrumental ingenuity enabled total integration of xenharmony into his works. Partch’s ideas planted seeds for today’s microtonal revival.
Contemporary Microtonal Composers
In the 21st century, composers continue expanding microtonality’s frontiers:
- American James Tenney composed spectralist microtonal pieces focusing on psychoacoustic phenomena.
- Italian Scelsi used microtones to create haunting, transcendental soundscapes.
- American Ben Johnston merged conventional forms like string quartets with electronically controlled microtonal intonation.
Thanks to new technology, today’s musicians access microtones easier than ever before. With new sounds comes new inspiration to chart creative territory beyond the 12 fixed pitches.
Microtones in Popular Music Genres
While microtonality remains an avant-garde pursuit, its colors can be found subtly enhancing mainstream genres as well. Let’s look at some examples of microtones sneaking into jazz, rock, pop, and more.
Microtonal Inflections in Jazz
In jazz, microtonal shadings add expressive flair:
- Saxophonists use pitch bends, smears, and alternate fingerings for microtonal nuance.
- Vocalists incorporate quarter-tone blue notes and embellishments.
- Innovators like saxophonist Joe Maneri expanded jazz language with microtonal scales.
This flexible microtonal ornamentation allows jazz artists to enhance standard tunes with new colors.
Microtones in Rock and Blues
The blues tradition harbors plenty of microtonality:
- Guitarists bend and slide strings to reach microtonal pitches between frets.
- Vocalists slide into blue notes in a microtonal fashion.
- Guitar effects like whammy bars and chorus produce microtonal warbling.
Other rock genres employ similar techniques – think of Jimi Hendrix’s radical pitch bends. Adding a microtonal touch can make a solo soar.
Unlocking New Textures with Electronics
Electronic instruments lend themselves well to microtonality:
- Synthesizers drift into unstable microtonal realms through oscillator detuning.
- Effects like talk boxes, vocoders, and auto-tune create artificial pitch fluctuations.
- Digital production tools enable endless microtonal tweaking during mixing.
This flexibility allows electronic producers to treat microtones as another color for their sonic palettes.
Mainstream Pop Artists Using Microtones
Some visionary pop musicians integrate microtones into their signature styles:
- Jacob Collier’s complex jazz-influenced arrangements weave microtonal harmony with catchy melodies.
- King Crimson’s otherworldly prog rock epics used microtonal guitars as early as the 1970s.
- Herbie Hancock brought microtonal synthesizers to his futuristic pop-funk hits in the 1980s.
When used judiciously, microtones can enhance a pop song without sacrificing accessibility. As tools improve, microtonality may fully permeate the mainstream.
The expressive power of musical notes between the cracks continues enticing intrepid composers and producers.
The Future of Microtonal Music
Microtonality offers captivating uncharted territory. Where might technology and creative exploration take xenharmonic music in the years ahead?
Accessibility Through Digital Tools
As software, hardware, and online resources progress, microtonal music creation becomes more accessible. A few trends empowering this shift:
- Mainstream DAWs integrating microtonal capabilities and tuning file support
- Next-gen touch instruments with continuous pitch control
- Custom microtonal MIDI protocols and controller mappings
- Scala and SCLang establishing standards for sharing tunings
- YouTube tutorials exposing new audiences to microtonal concepts
These tools lower barriers for both composers and listeners to explore xenharmony.
New Frontiers in Multimedia Music
Microtonality’s capabilities align well with emerging forms of multimedia music:
- Film and video game scores with microtonal atmospheric textures
- Augmented and virtual reality platforms facilitating immersive microtonal environments
- Visual microtonal notation systems and animated sheet music
- Generative and AI-assisted microtonal composition processes
- Spatial audio’s 3D soundscapes paired with intricate microtonal arrangements
Unbound by physical instruments, multimedia music empowers imagination with microtones.
Ongoing Evolution of Music Theory and Practice
Moving forward, microtonality will likely intertwine increasingly with conventional music theory:
- Mainstream pop and rock artists normalizing microtones for general audiences
- Fusion genres blending idiomatic microtonality with electronic sounds
- Renewed interest in just intonation and natural harmonics
- Notation and theoretical frameworks co-evolving with technology
- Curious musicians continually expanding practical knowledge
Neither 12-TET nor microtonality will displace the other, but rather fuse together organically.
The future promises captivating new musical frontiers as creators integrate xenharmony with contemporary styles.
Final Thoughts: Endless Sonic Possibility
Today, technology makes accessing microtones easier than ever. Creative tools empower musicians to explore xenharmonics and continue pushing boundaries.
Equal temperament facilitates composition, but listening beyond 12 fixed pitches reveals striking new dimensions of tone and expression. Microtonality remains an unmapped creative continent, its borders open for exploration.
So don’t be confined by those 88 repeating piano keys. Between them lies a spectrum of tones that can profoundly expand music’s nuanced emotional impact. The infinite potential of undiscovered musical notes awaits. It’s up to today’s composers to chart new microtonal territory, guided only by imagination.