Pitch Bend for tuning

The recent quote from Brian about Pitch Bend being too much trouble to use,
that it clogs the MIDI stream and that it makes sliding tones in the attacks
requires a response. I have been using pitch bend very effectively for
microtuning purposes, since 1988. It is not much trouble at all, if you do
it the way I do:

1. If you hand edit the pitch bend messages for each note it IS too
much trouble. But that is not the best way to do it.
2. Pitch Bend is a very small message if only one is sent per note.
This will not clog the MIDI stream. However, long streams of Bend messages,
such as are generated by manually moving the Bender wheel can cause delays.
But this is not the way to do it, either.
3. Sliding tones in the attack of notes indicate that pitch Bend is
being sent AFTER the note message. This is DEFINITELY NOT the best way to
use pitch bend for microtuning purposes.

So, HOW CAN PITCH BEND BE USED EFFECTIVELY FOR MICROTUNING?

ANSWER: Use a program to enter the appropriate Pitch Bend message BEFORE
the note. This is simple, easy and convenient to do in real time with full
polyphony, using MICROTONAL MIDI TERMINAL, available for $60 at the below
address.

On the other hand, it is possible to use occasional pitch Bend messages,
entered manually in a sequencer's event list to TRANSPOSE a tuning on a
synth that only holds one user tuning at a time, without too much trouble.

Denny Genovese
Director

Southeast Just Intonation Center

World Harmony Project Inc.
PO Box 15464
Gainesville, FL 32604

Email: sejic@afn.org Web Page: http://www.afn.org/~sejic




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