Intonation

Intonation involves the real-time adjustment of the frequencies of musical tones in music performance. This is generally done “by ear”: musicians listen to the sound of their own performance, both holistically (the whole impression of all instruments or voices) and analytically (their own instrument or voice relative to the ensemble), and adjust frequencies to achieve a desired effect. The desired effect is often, but not always, a form of consonance: tones sound well together when they are properly in tune. The interesting question, [Page 638]then, is: What is “in tune” exactly? Empirical studies have shown that what musicians consider to be “in tune” is strongly influenced by their experience of different tuning systems — especially the 12-tone equal temperament that is widely used today. From a theoretical viewpoint, tuning systems are based on mathematical principles, of which the most common are frequency ratios of small whole numbers and equal subdivisions of the octave. Since these two principles generally contradict, and each allows for many different culturally conditioned approaches, there is a long history of disagreement and conflict about interval sizes in music theory. This entry focuses on tuning in the Western classical tradition, for which the most research literature exists.