Frequently asked questions: Difference between revisions

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Whether they are frequent or one-of-a-kind, all questions are welcome here. When listing questions, list broad, general questions higher and niche, more specific questions lower. Answer each question on a separate page, linked to by the question.
Whether they are frequent or one-of-a-kind, all questions are welcome here. When listing questions, list broad, general questions higher and niche, more specific questions lower. Answer each question on a separate page, linked to by the question.


== Answered questions ==
== About musical tuning ==
<br />
 
'''[[Microtonal music|What is microtonal music?]]'''
 
 
'''[[Glossary|Where can I find a glossary of musical tuning terms and jargon?]]'''
 
 
'''[[Why Microtonality?|Why use microtonality?]]'''
 
 
'''[[Approaches to Musical Tuning|What are some different kinds of tuning systems that exist?]]'''
 


=== About musical tuning ===
'''[[Systematic comma names explained|How do I decode those strange looking comma names?]]'''
<br>


* '''[[Microtonal music|What is microtonal music?]]'''


'''What does “golden” refer to in “golden meantone”, “golden flattone”, etc?'''
* [[Rank-2 temperament]]s (of which meantone and flattone are two among many) generate [[MOS scale]]s with two step sizes, large and small.
* Depending on what [[generator]] you use for the temperament, you can make the ratio between large:small different. For example you can have 3:1 meantone, 2:1 meantone, 3:2 meantone, etc. and the same goes for any other rank-2 temperament.
* If the ratio between the step sizes is the [[golden ratio]], then the tuning is a golden tuning, such as “golden meantone”, “golden flattone” or similar.
* Golden tunings are one type of [[metallic MOS]], along with silver tunings, bronze tunings and others.
<br />


* '''[[Why Microtonality?|Why microtonality?]]''' (And why does anyone care about microtonal music?)
== About the wiki ==
<br />


'''There's so much to read. Where do I start?'''
* The page [[Xen concepts for beginners]] is the best place to start.
* After that, check out [[General Theory]] for a list of foundational pages about musical tuning.


* '''[[Approaches to Musical Tuning|What are some different kinds of tuning systems that exist?]]'''


'''[[Xenharmonic Wiki:What are this wiki's strengths and weaknesses?|What are this wiki's strengths and weaknesses?]]''' (How does it compare to other resources?)


* '''[[Systematic comma names explained|How do I decode those strange looking comma names?]]'''


'''[[Xenharmonic Wiki:License|What is this wiki's copyright/intellectual property policy?]]'''
'''I am more interested in the way [[regular temperament theory]] looked before the 2010s, rather than the direction it has taken since then. Is there a wiki that preserves that?'''
* Yes. You can find that at the [https://legacy.xen.wiki/w/Main_Page Legacy Xenharmonic Wiki].
<br />
'''How do I change my visual theme for the wiki?'''
# While logged in, go to https://en.xen.wiki/w/Special:Preferences
# Then click the "Appearance" tab near the top
# Then choose the skin you want
# Then click "Save" near the bottom left
<br />
== About editing the wiki ==
<br />


* '''What does “golden” refer to in “golden meantone”, “golden flattone”, etc?'''
'''[[Xenharmonic Wiki:I'm a new editor, what is everything I can do to help?|I'm a new editor, what is everything I can do to help?]]'''
** [[Rank-2 temperament]]s (of which meantone and flattone are two among many) generate [[MOS scale]]s with two step sizes, large and small.
** Depending on what [[generator]] you use for the temperament, you can make the ratio between large:small different. For example you can have 3:1 meantone, 2:1 meantone, 3:2 meantone, etc. and the same goes for any other rank-2 temperament.
** If the ratio between the step sizes is the [[golden ratio]], then the tuning is a golden tuning, such as “golden meantone”, “golden flattone” or similar.
<br>


=== About the wiki ===
<br>


* '''There's so much to read. Where do I start?'''
'''[[Xenharmonic Wiki:Article guidelines|Where can I find this wiki's style guide?]]'''
** The page [[Xen concepts for beginners]] is the best place to start.
** After that, check out [[General Theory]] for a list of foundational pages about musical tuning.




* '''[[Glossary|Where can I find a glossary of musical tuning terms and jargon?]]'''
'''[[Xenharmonic Wiki:Notability guidelines|Where can I find this wiki's notability guidelines?]]'''




* '''[[What are this wiki's strengths and weaknesses?]]''' (How does it compare to other resources?)
'''[[Xenharmonic Wiki:Recent changes is too crowded, how do I see what's actually important?|Recent changes is too crowded, how do I see what's actually important?]]'''




* '''[[Xenharmonic Wiki:Copyrights|What is this wiki's copyright/intellectual property policy?]]'''
'''What are user space pages and main space pages?'''
<br>
* User space pages are pages titled "User:YourUsername/Topic". For example "User:JohnDoe/Major scale".
* Main space pages are pages without any prefix. For example "Major scale".


=== About editing the wiki ===
<br>


* '''[[I'm a new editor, what is everything I can do to help?]]'''
'''How do I create a user page?'''
* Search "User:YourUsername/ThePageTitleYouWant" in the search bar (e.g. "User:JohnDoe/The arrowroot biscuit scale").
* It will then say "There is currently no text in this page. You can search for this page title in other pages, search the related logs, or create this page."
* Click "create this page" and then you will be taken to an editing window to create the user page.




* '''[[Xenharmonic Wiki:Article guidelines|Where can I find this wiki's style guide?]]'''
'''[[Xenharmonic Wiki:How can I sign my name on a talk page? How can I make my replies indented to the right?|How can I sign my name on a talk page? How can I make my replies indented to the right?]]'''




* '''[[Recent changes is too crowded, how do I see what's actually important?]]'''
'''How can I add an inline citation or note?'''
* Put <code><nowiki><ref>The contents of the note</ref></nowiki></code> at the place you want the little superscript number to appear.
* Place <code><<nowiki />references /></code> at the place you want the list of references to appear. (If you do not specify this, it will default to the very bottom of the page.)
* If you want to cite the same reference multiple times, give it a name e.g. <code><nowiki><ref name="Bob et al.">The contents of the note</ref></nowiki></code> the first time you use it.
* Then every subsequent time you can just use <code><<nowiki />ref name="Bob et al." /></code> without all the rest.




* '''[[Temperament naming|I discovered a new temperament, how should I name it?]]'''
'''[[Temperament naming|I discovered a new temperament, how should I name it?]]'''




* '''How can I add an inline citation or note?'''
'''I have a question about formatting or wikitext that isn't answered here. Is there an instruction manual somewhere where I can find it?'''
** Use<nowiki> “<ref>The contents of the note</ref>” </nowiki>at the place you want the little superscript number to appear.
* The answer is probably contained within the page [[Help:Editing]].
*** Use<nowiki> “< /references>” </nowiki>at the place you want the list of references to appear. (If you do not specify this, it will default to the very bottom of the page.)
** If you want to cite the same reference multiple times, give it a name e.g.<nowiki> “<ref name="Bob et al.">The contents of the note</ref>” </nowiki>the first time you use it.
*** Then every subsequent time you can just use<nowiki> <ref name="Bob et al." /> </nowiki>without all the rest.


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{{todo|answer questions|inline=1}}
{{todo|answer questions|inline=1}}


* '''[[How do I actually use a rank-3 temperament?]]''' (Please make a step-by-step guide of how to go from the 3 generators at the start, to a [[Scala]] file that works with [[software|Scale Workshop]] at the end? Every step of the way, explain like I’m five?)
'''[[How do I actually use a rank-3 temperament?]]''' (Please make a step-by-step guide of how to go from the 3 generators at the start, to a [[Scala]] file that works with [[software|Scale Workshop]] at the end? Every step of the way, explain like I’m five?)
''in the mean time until this question is answered, see: [[Rank-3 temperament]]''
* A good way of generating scales for rank-3 temperament's is [[hobbit]] scales, which are sort of like MOS scales except for higher-rank temperaments. I don't think this will answer the full question, though.
* ''in the mean time until this question is answered, see: [[Rank-3 temperament]]''




* '''[[Who is who in microtonality?]]'''
'''[[Who is who in microtonality?]]'''
''in the mean time until this question is answered, see: [[:Category:People]]''
* ''in the mean time until this question is answered, see: [[:Category:People]]''




* '''[[Why do microtonal musicians argue so much?]]''' (And do they argue more than people in other fields of research?)
'''[[Why do microtonal musicians argue so much?]]''' (And do they argue more than people in other fields of research?)




* '''[[What is all this new terminology good for anyway?]]'''
'''[[What is all this new terminology good for anyway?]]'''