3.a) Tuning and Accidental Symbols

3.a.1) Tuning

Tuning is a musical process of adjusting the frequency differences between two adjacent pitches of a musical instrument within an octave in series. This similar process is repeated across other octaves, resulting a fixed set series of pitches (scale) known as ‘in tune’. Playing a pitch which is not belong to the fixed set series of pitches (scale) is known as ‘out of tune’.
There are many types of ‘musical tuning systems‘. ‘12-tone chromatic tuning system‘ is the most common and traditionally used in Western classical art music. This system can be applied to many ‘tuning methods‘. ‘Equal-temperaments‘ is used as a standard ‘tuning methods’ whereby an octave between note pitch C4 and C5 is equally divided into 12-tone chromatic (or 12 semitone) by using equal frequency ratio logarithmic scale. A musical unit ‘cent’ is used to simplify the division of frequency-pitches, whereby 1200 cents are equal to an octave interval and equally divided into 12 parts of 100 cents. This equal-division of 12 note pitches in an octave (1200 cents) provide a fixed note to note frequency intervals of 100 cents, which is musically known as ‘semitone‘ (one note step interval). A ‘tone‘ (two notes step interval) is equal to 200 cents. The repetition of ‘semitone’ in a series is known as ‘chromatic’.

Accidental(s) is a musical notation symbols which represent vertical motion of high-low semitone changes.