Revision 536425144 of "Tune Smithy" on enwiki

'''Tune Smithy''' is a [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]-based [[shareware]] application, with [[freeware]] features.

It is an [[algorithmic composition]] tool to make [[fractal music]].<ref>[http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Oct04/articles/pcmusician.htm  Review of the fractal tunes is the main focus of the Sound on Sound article]</ref> It is now also used frequently as a [[musical tuning|retuning]] tool for [[microtonal music|microtonal composition]],<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=KChoKKhjOb0C&pg=PA157&dq=tune+smithy#v=onepage&q=tune%20smithy References to Tune Smithy in Tuning, timbre, spectrum, scale By William A. Sethares]</ref> and for [[music therapy]] in conjunction with Barbara Hero’s Lambdoma keyboard.<ref>[http://www.lambdoma.com/faqs.php Tune Smithy Software for Lambdoma Keyboard]</ref> As a [[microtuner]], it is one of the programs that supports [[MIDI Tuning Standard]] sysexes.

The application also contains a [[polyrhythm]] [[metronome]], a [[chord progression]] player, and an audio [[pitch (music)|pitch]] tracer which can be used for exact tracing of the pitch of microtonal music and [[bird vocalization|birdsong]]. Other features include a mouse [[theremin]] and a PC keyboard player which can be used to explore alternative keyboard layouts such as the [[Jankó keyboard]], which happens to use the same hexagonal type arrangement of keys as a PC keyboard. Version 3.0 introduces an automated [[Csound]] orchestra builder and various other new features.

==Sloth Canon==

Many of the tunes of Tune Smithy are constructed using self similar number sequences. They are based on a seed such as 0 1 0. If you take every nth note in the sequence, where n is the number of notes in the seed, you get the original sequence again. So for instance, with the 0 1 0 seed you get the integer sequence
<b>0</b>, 1, 0, <b>1</b>, 2, 1, <b>0</b>, 1, 0, <b>1</b>, 2, 1, <b>2</b>, 3, 2, <b>1</b>, 2, 1, <b>0</b>, 1, 0, <b>1</b>, 2, 1, <b>0</b>, 1, 0, <b>1</b>, 2, 1, <b>2</b>, 3, 2, <b>1</b>, 2, 1, <b>2</b>, 3, 2, <b>3</b>, 4, 3, <b>2</b>, 3, 2, <b>1</b>, 2, 1, <b>2</b>, 3, 2, <b>1</b>, 2, 1, <b>0</b>, 1, 0, <b>1</b>, 2, 1, <b>0</b>, 1, 0,
<ref>The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences [http://oeis.org/A062756 Number of 1's in ternary (base 3) expansion of n.]</ref> where every third number, highlighted in bold, gives the original sequence again, 0, 1, 0, 1, 2, 1, ...
 
Then if you take every n<sup>2</sup> note, you get the same sequenced again, and so on. By distributing these to different instruments you get an endless sloth canon as a result.

==Fibonacci rhythms==

Tune Smithy is also able to play the "Fibonacci gamelan rhythms" of David Canright <ref>David Canright [http://home.comcast.net/~dcanright/fibgam/index.htm Fibonacci Gamelan Rhythms]</ref>

==Bounce Metronome Pro==

The polyrhythm metronome task in Tune Smithy was developed into a separate program Bounce Metronome Pro which uses conducting visuals to help the musician keep time while playing polyrhythms and other rhythms.<ref>[http://bouncemetronome.com/review.htm Short Review of Bounce Metronome in Sound On Sound Magazine] - requires subscription to read the original of it
</ref>

==Freeware features==

The Scales Composer,<ref>[http://robertinventor.com/software/tunesmithy/scales.htm Scales Composer]</ref> a tool to make microtonal scales, is free.

Also the chord progression player - a tool to play any chord progression you paste into it in standard chord notation such as C, A7, etc, is free when used as a player (exporting the chord progression to midi and advanced functions are shareware).

==Related programs==

Tune Smithy (for Windows) is one of the programs used by microtonal composers for software midi retuning. The other main ones are SCALA and L'il Miss Scale Oven (for Mac). There are other less frequently used ones as well. (See [[Microtuner]].)

==External links==
<references/>
*[http://robertinventor.com/software/tunesmithy/music.htm Tune Smithy Home Page]
*[http://soundonsound.com/sos/Oct04/articles/pcmusician.htm Review in Sound on Sound, October 04]
* [http://robertinventor.com/software/3.0/index.htm Fractal Tunes you can make with Tune Smithy 3.0] sample fractal tunes made with Fractal Tune Smithy
*[http://bouncemetronome.com Bounce Metronome Home Page]

[[Category:Computer music software]]
[[Category:MIDI]]
[[Category:Shareware]]
[[Category:Electronic music software]]
[[Category:Musical tuning]]