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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 ==
=== About musical tuning ===
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* '''[[Microtonal music|What is microtonal music?]]'''
'''[[Microtonal music|What is microtonal music?]]'''




* '''[[Why Microtonality?|Why microtonality?]]''' (And why does anyone care about microtonal music?)
'''[[Glossary|Where can I find a glossary of musical tuning terms and jargon?]]'''




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




* '''[[Systematic comma names explained|How do I decode those strange looking comma names?]]'''
'''[[Approaches to Musical Tuning|What are some different kinds of tuning systems that exist?]]'''




* '''What does “golden” refer to in “golden meantone”, “golden flattone”, etc?'''
'''[[Systematic comma names explained|How do I decode those strange looking comma names?]]'''
** [[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.
'''What does “golden” refer to in “golden meantone”, “golden flattone”, etc?'''
** Golden tunings are one type of [[metallic MOS]], along with silver tunings, bronze tunings and others.
* [[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.
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=== About the wiki ===
== About the wiki ==
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* '''There's so much to read. Where do I start?'''
'''There's so much to read. Where do I start?'''
** The page [[Xen concepts for beginners]] is the best place to 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.
* 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:What are this wiki's strengths and weaknesses?|What are this wiki's strengths and weaknesses?]]''' (How does it compare to other resources?)




* '''[[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?)
'''[[Xenharmonic Wiki:License|What is this wiki's copyright/intellectual property policy?]]'''




* '''[[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].
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* '''I am more interested in the way [[regular temperament theory]] looked before 2010, rather than the direction it has taken since 2020. Is there a wiki that preserves that?'''
'''How do I change my visual theme for the wiki?'''
** Yes. You can find that at the [https://legacy.xen.wiki/w/Main_Page Legacy Xenharmonic 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
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=== About editing the wiki ===
== About editing the wiki ==
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* '''[[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?]]'''
'''[[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?]]'''
 
 
* '''[[Xenharmonic Wiki:Article guidelines|Where can I find this wiki's style guide?]]'''
 
 
* '''[[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?]]'''
 
 
* '''[[Temperament naming|I discovered a new temperament, how should I name it?]]'''
 
 
* '''How can I sign my name on a talk page? How can I make my replies indented to the right?'''
** Writing the following:
<pre>
: I like puppies, kittens and rainbows.


: Oh and ice cream, too.


: ~~~~
'''[[Xenharmonic Wiki:Article guidelines|Where can I find this wiki's style guide?]]'''
</pre>




** Will result in the following output, with indented text and a signed name:
'''[[Xenharmonic Wiki:Notability guidelines|Where can I find this wiki's notability guidelines?]]'''
: I like puppies, kittens and rainbows.


: Oh and ice cream, too.


: [[User:BudjarnLambeth|BudjarnLambeth]] ([[User talk:BudjarnLambeth|talk]]) 03:11, 18 December 2024 (UTC)
'''[[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?]]'''




** Writing the following:
'''What are user space pages and main space pages?'''
<pre>
* User space pages are pages titled "User:YourUsername/Topic". For example "User:JohnDoe/Major scale".
: I am Bob. ~~~~
* Main space pages are pages without any prefix. For example "Major scale".


:: Hi Bob, I’m Alice. ~~~~


::: Nice to meet you Alice, what got you interested in xenharmony? ~~~~
'''How do I create a user page?'''
</pre>
* 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.




** Will result in the following output, with differing levels of indentation:
'''[[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?]]'''
: I am Bob. [[User:BobSmith|BobSmith]] ([[User talk:BobSmith|talk]]) 01:23, 18 December 2024 (UTC)


:: Hi Bob, I’m Alice. [[User:AliceFromWonderland|AliceFromWonderland]] ([[User talk:AliceFromWonderland|talk]]) 02:02, 18 December 2024 (UTC)


::: Nice to meet you Alice, what got you interested in xenharmony? [[User:BobSmith|BobSmith]] ([[User talk:BobSmith|talk]]) 03:45, 18 December 2024 (UTC)
'''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.




* '''How can I add an inline citation or note?'''
'''[[Temperament naming|I discovered a new temperament, how should I name it?]]'''
** 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.




* '''I have another technical question similar to the previous two. Where can I find the answer?'''
'''I have a question about formatting or wikitext that isn't answered here. Is there an instruction manual somewhere where I can find it?'''
The answer is probably contained within the page [[Help:Editing]].
* The answer is probably contained within the page [[Help:Editing]].


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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?]]'''




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