Uploaded February 2020 | Updated September 2026, 10 minutes ago
How "perfect" does intonation need to be? Here is a video discussing some of the complexities and subtle differences behind the idea of "playing in tune." There are a lot of different intonation theories that exist to make this concept much more complex than it may seem to most music listeners. It is a more advanced music topic to discuss, but I think it's useful to know about regardless of your current playing level as a musician, or even if you do not play music but enjoy listening to it. It is something that I find super interesting yet difficult, and one that I've started to explore with my own music.
In this video, I mention three types of intonation theories:
Equidistant Intonation, often called "Tempered Tuning," or "Tempered Intonation," sometimes called "Chromatic tuning," which is where each note is a perceived equal tonality distance from each note above and below with octaves being in tune.
Just Intonation, which is where notes forming chords create equal ratio numbers (e.g. 3:2). This creates a very pleasant-sounding chord, but it is often considered impractical to play with this kind of intonation because each note's position relies heavily on the key signature of the music.
Pythagorean Intonation, which is when you tune in fifths while marching around the circle of fifths. This creates perfect fifths, but octaves are not in tune. Relative to tempered intonation and using a 440 A, tuning in fifths causes the notes to become flatter as you tune to lower notes, or sharper as you tune to higher notes.
As I've made my backing tracks for my music (they force me to play in "tempered tuning"), I've started to have a difficult time knowing what correctly sounds in-tune. It's gotten to a point where playing chords following something more closely to the "just intonation" theory sounds more in-tune while I play the violin (I think the violin resonates differently, and it sounds more correct with the instrument right under my ear), yet I think the the tempered-tuned chords sound better when I listen to my music from a 3rd-person perspective. It's very strange. I think that this is a topic that a lot of musicians struggle with at some point....
Sources:
Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas "Fire and Grace" album:
YouTube Playlist: youtube.com/watch?v=nwgcvxsOeyI&list=OLAK5uy_lPPtAnii2XY2Xy1zPblV8SyY5NTz7iWkI
Available @ the Culburnie Records Store: culburnie.com/albums/AlasdairFraser/fire_and_grace.htm
Science behind sound waves:
nasa.gov/specials/X59/science-of-sound.html
britannica.com/science/sound-physics
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Sound/interf.html
International Organization for Standardization of the 440 A:
iso.org/standard/3601.html
Tuning Fork Pitches throughout history:
books.google.com/books?id=2udRDwAAQBAJ&ppis=_e&lpg=PT359&ots=_tMdDcfbHi&dq=The%20Harvard%20Dictionary%20415&pg=PT1090#v=onepage&q&f=false
Equal Temperament Intonation:
sfu.ca/sonic-studio-webdav/handbook/Equal_Temperament.html
Just Intonation:
sfu.ca/sonic-studio-webdav/handbook/Just_Tuning.html
britannica.com/art/just-intonation
Pythagorean Intonation:
sfu.ca/sonic-studio-webdav/handbook/Pythagorean_Scale.html
Commas in music:
britannica.com/art/comma-music#ref23891
Comparing Intonation Scales:
https://pages.mtu.edu/~suits/scales.html
sfu.ca/sonic-studio-webdav/handbook/Interval.html
britannica.com/art/tuning-and-temperament/Classic-tuning-systems
Consonance and Dissonance in Music:
britannica.com/art/consonance-music
Noise-canceling sound waves image:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_noise_control#/media/File:Active_Noise_Reduction.svg
Thank you for watching, and I hope you have a good rest of the week! =)
~ Katy
------------
A big "Thank You" goes to my Patreon supporters:
patreon.com/KatyAdelson
Music store website:
goldenaspenmusic.com
Artist portfolio website:
katyadelson.com
Download/stream my "Tune Collection" album:
fanlink.to/TuneCollection
Download/stream my "Ghost Ship" single:
fanlink.to/GhostShip
Hashtags:
#MusicTheory #Intonation #Violin #Fiddle #KatyAdelson #Music #PlayingInTune
Software and equipment used:
Full list of all my basic violin equipment:
katyadelson.com/about/violin-equipment-and-recommendations
Violin gear:
Violin: 1899 Ernst Kreusler “Copy of Antonius Stradivarius” violin from Germany
Bow: CodaBow Luma
Strings: Evah Pirazzi Violin Strings (with a ball E)
Rosin: Salchow Rosin
Shoulder Rest: Bonmusica Shoulder Rest
Software used (for Macintosh):
Final Cut Pro for video editing
PicMonkey.com for the ending cards
Camera:
Canon 70D + 18-135 mm kit lens
Sony RX100 V
How "perfect" does intonation need to be? Here is a video discussing some of the complexities and subtle differences behind the idea of "playing in tune." There are a lot of different intonation theories that exist to make this concept much more complex than it may seem to most music listeners. It is a more advanced music topic to discuss, but I think it's useful to know about regardless of your current playing level as a musician, or even if you do not play music but enjoy listening to it. It is something that I find super interesting yet difficult, and one that I've started to explore with my own music.
In this video, I mention three types of intonation theories:
Equidistant Intonation, often called "Tempered Tuning," or "Tempered Intonation," sometimes called "Chromatic tuning," which is where each note is a perceived equal tonality distance from each note above and below with octaves being in tune.
Just Intonation, which is where notes forming chords create equal ratio numbers (e.g. 3:2). This creates a very pleasant-sounding chord, but it is often considered impractical to play with this kind of intonation because each note's position relies heavily on the key signature of the music.
Pythagorean Intonation, which is when you tune in fifths while marching around the circle of fifths. This creates perfect fifths, but octaves are not in tune. Relative to tempered intonation and using a 440 A, tuning in fifths causes the notes to become flatter as you tune to lower notes, or sharper as you tune to higher notes.
As I've made my backing tracks for my music (they force me to play in "tempered tuning"), I've started to have a difficult time knowing what correctly sounds in-tune. It's gotten to a point where playing chords following something more closely to the "just intonation" theory sounds more in-tune while I play the violin (I think the violin resonates differently, and it sounds more correct with the instrument right under my ear), yet I think the the tempered-tuned chords sound better when I listen to my music from a 3rd-person perspective. It's very strange. I think that this is a topic that a lot of musicians struggle with at some point....
Sources:
Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas "Fire and Grace" album:
YouTube Playlist: youtube.com/watch?v=nwgcvxsOeyI&list=OLAK5uy_lPPtAnii2XY2Xy1zPblV8SyY5NTz7iWkI
Available @ the Culburnie Records Store: culburnie.com/albums/AlasdairFraser/fire_and_grace.htm
Science behind sound waves:
nasa.gov/specials/X59/science-of-sound.html
britannica.com/science/sound-physics
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Sound/interf.html
International Organization for Standardization of the 440 A:
iso.org/standard/3601.html
Tuning Fork Pitches throughout history:
books.google.com/books?id=2udRDwAAQBAJ&ppis=_e&lpg=PT359&ots=_tMdDcfbHi&dq=The%20Harvard%20Dictionary%20415&pg=PT1090#v=onepage&q&f=false
Equal Temperament Intonation:
sfu.ca/sonic-studio-webdav/handbook/Equal_Temperament.html
Just Intonation:
sfu.ca/sonic-studio-webdav/handbook/Just_Tuning.html
britannica.com/art/just-intonation
Pythagorean Intonation:
sfu.ca/sonic-studio-webdav/handbook/Pythagorean_Scale.html
Commas in music:
britannica.com/art/comma-music#ref23891
Comparing Intonation Scales:
https://pages.mtu.edu/~suits/scales.html
sfu.ca/sonic-studio-webdav/handbook/Interval.html
britannica.com/art/tuning-and-temperament/Classic-tuning-systems
Consonance and Dissonance in Music:
britannica.com/art/consonance-music
Noise-canceling sound waves image:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_noise_control#/media/File:Active_Noise_Reduction.svg
Thank you for watching, and I hope you have a good rest of the week! =)
~ Katy
------------
A big "Thank You" goes to my Patreon supporters:
patreon.com/KatyAdelson
Music store website:
goldenaspenmusic.com
Artist portfolio website:
katyadelson.com
Download/stream my "Tune Collection" album:
fanlink.to/TuneCollection
Download/stream my "Ghost Ship" single:
fanlink.to/GhostShip
Hashtags:
#MusicTheory #Intonation #Violin #Fiddle #KatyAdelson #Music #PlayingInTune
Software and equipment used:
Full list of all my basic violin equipment:
katyadelson.com/about/violin-equipment-and-recommendations
Violin gear:
Violin: 1899 Ernst Kreusler “Copy of Antonius Stradivarius” violin from Germany
Bow: CodaBow Luma
Strings: Evah Pirazzi Violin Strings (with a ball E)
Rosin: Salchow Rosin
Shoulder Rest: Bonmusica Shoulder Rest
Software used (for Macintosh):
Final Cut Pro for video editing
PicMonkey.com for the ending cards
Camera:
Canon 70D + 18-135 mm kit lens
Sony RX100 V
