For the musicians out there - anyone know a good software for quartertones/twelfthtones?

**zeroone506**

Guitar Pro (I assume everyone knows that one) is capable of bending up notes by full, half and quarter steps, however, after listening to it, it seems the quarter step is a bit bigger than it should be - maybe I'm wrong, but somehow, the quartertone between two neighboring tones seems to be closer to the higher one.

So anyway, does anyone know a software which can create quartertones, or even twelfthtones, precisely?

Danger_Frog1471

zeroone506 wrote:

Guitar Pro (I assume everyone knows that one) is capable of bending up notes by full, half and quarter steps, however, after listening to it, it seems the quarter step is a bit bigger than it should be - maybe I'm wrong, but somehow, the quartertone between two neighboring tones seems to be closer to the higher one.

So anyway, does anyone know a software which can create quartertones, or even twelfthtones, precisely?

Ok im no expert in music, but i did do a GCSE in music and a year at Alevel. What i want to ask is how the hell can you tell or even name anything in between a semi-tone :S lol it would all have to be done mechanically as there would be so much variation between people and what they hear.

A tone: C-D
Semi(half?)-tone: C-C#
Quarter-tone: ??

I could just be talking about something else :S ^^ in which case ignore me :p

**ArchDuke**

The two best programs for creating and playing back music are Finale and Sibelius. I use Finale but have never had the need to use quarter tones. There are a few tutorials out that that will show you how to precisely use and play back the quarter tones, though the ones I've seen are pretty labor-intensive.

**zeroone506**

ArchDuke wrote:

The two best programs for creating and playing back music are Finale and Sibelius. I use Finale but have never had the need to use quarter tones. There are a few tutorials out that that will show you how to precisely use and play back the quarter tones, though the ones I've seen are pretty labor-intensive.

Thanks! Do you know if I have to pay for them (or for the "full version" with important features)?

**ArchDuke**

Their like any program such as Photoshop, etc. You have to purchase the full version to get everything. There are other means to obtain it, however.

There's also a program called Finale Notepad, it's a free lite version of Finale. If you want to try that first and see if you need to do more then you'll have to upgrade.

**zeroone506**

Danger_Frog1471 wrote:

Ok im no expert in music, but i did do a GCSE in music and a year at Alevel. What i want to ask is how the hell can you tell or even name anything in between a semi-tone :S lol it would all have to be done mechanically as there would be so much variation between people and what they hear.
A tone: C-D
Semi(half?)-tone: C-C#
Quarter-tone: ??
I could just be talking about something else :S ^^ in which case ignore me :p

I don't know how much about the use of microtones - some contemporary music, e.g. played on bowing instruments or special pianos with extended keyboards (there's some 72-ary synthesizer - 6 steps inside a semitone - in Salzburg or so) , and maybe some rock or metal, seeing as how this is a *bending* feature for guitar in GP.

It's nothing I have yet delved into, sadly, right now I simply would like adapt my ears for this kind of stuff.

I don't know if there's a universal rule for notation or naming for microtones - I heard different composers use their own notations they explain in legends. Some of it includes upside down flats, or in case of that 72-tone row, different arrow symbols above the note.

Again, I hardly know anything about that.

"it would all have to be done mechanically as there would be so much variation between people and what they hear"

Not quite sure what you mean. I doubt there would be any variations in perception between people with absolute pitch trained to define or distinguish microtones.
I personally have listened to quarter tone scales I've written in Guitar Pro, and probably can recognize a tone between, say, e and f - I just suspect it's not quite symmetrical and am therefore looking for another program.

(If you have Guitar Pro, you can write down a chromatic scale with double notes and then bend each second one by a quarter tone - sounds quite cool, I must say.)

**zeroone506**

ArchDuke wrote:

Their like any program such as Photoshop, etc. You have to purchase the full version to get everything. There are other means to obtain it, however.

There's also a program called Finale Notepad, it's a free lite version of Finale. If you want to try that first and see if you need to do more then you'll have to upgrade.

Alright then, I'll tell you how I'm doing!

**Roukan** · 03/16/2008 11:09:35

Not a clue! But if you find a place I can get free sheet music for the Alto Saxaphone and trumpet, I would be grateful >.>

**zeroone506**

Roukan wrote:

Not a clue! But if you find a place I can get free sheet music for the Alto Saxaphone and trumpet, I would be grateful >.>

No idea, but I found a few sites for free piano sheet music by searching Google for specific pieces. You might want to look for something like "(free) download", .pdf or stuff like that.

I'm sure you'll find something.

Good luck.