2

Is there any software in which I can connect my casio keyboard (mk-210) to use as input and select the tuning in cents or frequency for each note manually to listen to as an output so I can try different tunings as much as I want?

Edit: in particular I'd like a tunning that isn't the same on every octave, so that's not so easy to get.

Julián Tricanico
  • 31
  • 4
  • 1
    Don't know about that k'bd., but there are many out there with many different temperament options. – Tim Nov 20 '19 at 13:50
  • I thought the keyboard itself wasn't really important. That there should be a software made for midi in general for which the keyboard served as input and nothing else. I posted the model just in case. It does have some temperaments like pythagorean, pure minor and major and some others, but I needed something specific. Thanks for the idea though. :) – Julián Tricanico Nov 20 '19 at 15:16
  • You need: (1) MIDI interface for your computer, unless the Casio has USB connectivity that does this without dedicated MIDI connections (2) _host_ application for virtual instrument plugins, plugin types VST on Windows, VST or AU on Mac, examples of such host applications are Reason, Reaper, Garage Band, Logic, Cubase, Ableton, Cakewalk, to name a few, (3) a VST or AU instrument plugin that supports _microtuning_. – piiperi Reinstate Monica Nov 20 '19 at 15:24
  • 1
    Do you want to tune the keyboard, or do you want to generate a MIDI file and tune that? If the former, I'm skeptical that any digital keyboard will allow tuning different octaves differently. As with pipe organs, get yourself multiple keyboards to do that. – Carl Witthoft Nov 20 '19 at 15:31
  • I know some admins might go to on hold this question as off topic because OP asks for a software. To prevent such intensions I’d like to point out that this question and eventually answers might have a great impact of music theory and practice. – Albrecht Hügli Nov 21 '19 at 09:17

2 Answers2

5

I can't speak to the logistics of connecting your particular keyboard. But one piece of software that is useful for this (and has been around forever) is Scala. Depending on the abilities of your equipment, it can export tuning files in various formats or use MIDI pitch bends to allow real-time performance on an instrument that doesn't natively support such detailed tuning features.

And it can definitely do scales without octave equivalence as well as all sorts of other exotic tuning things. It does have a bit of a learning curve, and it's a little old-fashioned and clunky in terms of its interface. But it's probably one of the most flexible things out there for manipulating and building tunings.

Athanasius
  • 12,142
  • 20
  • 49
  • Ok, so I tried Scala, and after some struggling, it ended up doing exactly what I needed, so many thanks. I even managed to play the new sounds directly from the keyboard with no lag which is a luxury. But I don't know how to do it again.. – Julián Tricanico Nov 21 '19 at 16:06
2

Cubase has its Micro Tuner in the MIDI Effects section.

I'm not clear if different tunings can be set in different octaves. From the description I suspect not, but I'll check when I get to my 'big' computer where Cubase lives!

https://steinberg.help/cubase_plugin_reference/v9/en/_shared/topics/plug_ref/micro_tuner_r.html

Laurence
  • 84,790
  • 5
  • 59
  • 178