Instrument Maker’s Software on the Web
We have two pieces of instrument makers’ software residing here on the Experimental Musical Instruments site: a fret placement calculator and a percussion bar length calculator.
To supplement these, the following is a list of other sites offering software for instrument makers.
If you know of additional sites that should be added to the list, please send us a message with the relevant web site addresses.
STRING SCALING & FRET PLACEMENT
Arto’s String Calculator created by Arto Wikla. User first inputs intended pitch, string length, and density of the string material. Then either a) user gives a diameter and the program calculates the tension required to achieve the intended pitch, or b) user gives a tension and the program calculates the diameter required.
FretCalc 2.0: Douglas Sparling’s fret spacings calculator program. Naturally, we encourage you to use ExMI’s own fret calculator, but Doug’s program is a very much worth a look as well. It is downloadable, and Doug will be adding a number of improvements as time goes by, so consider checking it out now and then checking again as time goes by.
Fretfind, created by Aron Spike. A fret placement calculator which can handle just intonations and “fretlets” (frets which don;t cross the entire fingerboard, so that they function for a particualr string or strings). Also on this site are a frequency chart and calculators for other string properties.
WIND INSTRUMENT TONEHOLE PLACEMENT
Flutomat, created by Pete Kosel for calculating tonehole sizes and placements in simple cylindrical flutes. The user first inputs the interior diameter of the flute tube, and the wall thickness of the tube (which corresponds to the depth of the toneholes). Then, in a spreadsheet, the user indicates the desired frequency and intended hole size for each hole, and then clicks a “calculate” button, the program returns hole locations. If the resulting locations are problematic (e.g., too close together or too far apart for easy fingering) the user can try again with modified hole sizes.
TWCalc is downloadable tonehole software for tinwhistles created by Daniel Bingamon.
WAVE LENGTH
Wavelength Calculator (English units) or Wavelength Calculator (metric), created by Daniel Bingamon of Jubilee Music Instrument Company. Given a frequency and temperature, the calculator returns the wavelength and also the speed of sound for the given temperature.
Jubilee’s site also has a Length/Bore ratio calculator: Given a wind instrument bore length and diameter, calculates the ratio.
TUNING AND TEMPERAMENT CALCULATORS
Java Tuner, created by Pierre Lewis. Provides many features including frequency and cents calculations for a number of existing tunings as well as the user’s own tunings; includes sounds and MIDI data.
Keyboard temperament analyzer/calculator, created by Bradley Lehman. A downloadable spreadsheet which returns not only frequencies and cents values for both historical and user-specified temperaments, but also beat rates for intervals within the tuning. (Beat rates provide insight into the “roughness” of the harmonies as well as the presence of secondary tones (combination and difference tones).
Java Just Intonation Calculator, associated with an online course offered at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. A downloadable Java program allowing the user to specify just intonation scales as ratios. Provides scale degrees as frequencies or cents above or below 12-equal steps, relative intervals between scale steps, transpositions, string lengths and more.
Nonoctave.com, the work of X. Jeff Scott, contains two commercial tuning software packages for Mac computers (for sale through the web site). Interval Calc is a calculator that converts between frequencies, cents and ratios in a variety of useful and flexible ways, including graphic outputs. Li’l Miss Scale Oven is a comprehensive and very flexible tuning application that works with leading brands of synthesizers.
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