Edo recommendation hub page
Welcome to the EDO recommendation hub page! This is a hub page for recommending EDOs (equal divisions of the octave) to composers who are new to microtonality.
Any editor can create their own page explaining which EDOs they recommend and why, and then post a link to it on this page under the heading "List of recommendation pages".
When you make a page, make sure it follows the format described under the heading "Standard format". This makes it easy for readers to cross-compare and figure out which recommendation page matches their intuition.
Any editor can also create a flow chart or diagram for choosing edos. Please add those under the heading "List of recommendation charts".
List of recommendation pages
(Remove the dummy example ones once two or more real pages have been made.)
- Bob's guide to choosing an edo
- JaneDoe's guide to choosing an edo
- XX_Xenharmon3Raide7_XX's guide to choosing an edo
List of recommendation charts
Standard format (example only)
The page should be titled "Name's guide to choosing an edo".
It should open with the text "This guide was written by Name to help composers who are new to microtuning decide which EDO (equal division of the octave) they would like to experiment with first.
For similar pages by other authors, see Edo recommendation hub page."
Methodology
The first subheading should be "Methodology".
Under this subheading, you should explain the methodology you chose for recommending your EDOs.
This methodology can be anything, here are some possible examples, but they are only examples and you can put something wildly different:
- "I selected EDOs which have a small number of notes, ideally less than 35, and which have less than 15 cents error in the 11-limit."
- "I empirically tested every EDO from 5 to 53 by ear and listed all the ones that sounded good to me."
- "I selected EDOs which sound as different as possible from standard 12edo. To do this, I selected EDOs which avoid harmonics 12 does well (3/1, 5/1, 17/1, 19/1) while approximating harmonics that 12 cannot (7/1, 11/1, 13/1, 23/1)."
- "I selected EDOs which have consistency up to an unusually high odd-limit for their size and which also support at least two regular temperaments with low-badness."
The main point of the methodology subheading is to explain your philosophy, so that if the reader clicks with your philosophy, they will get excited about it and want to read more.
Reasoning for methodology
This section is optional, you do not have to include it.
If you suspect that your methodology might be hard to understand for new xenharmonicists - for example it leans on a lot of technical terms - then you can use this section to give a longer, plain-English explanation of why you chose your methodology (how it chooses tunings that are good for composers).
To help give an idea of when or when not this section is required:
Of the three methodology examples given above:
- 1, 2 and 3 probably do not require a "reasoning for methodology section"
- But 4 probably does require one
Use your own judgement.
List of recommended EDOs
The fun part! List each EDO you recommend under its own subheading, and give a brief description of each one's character.
The descriptions of the EDOs may be:
- Subjective (e.g. "Nedo sounds bright like the sun reflecting on icicles")
- Objective (e.g. "Nedo has less than 30% relative error on all harmonics in the 11-limit")
- Or a mix of both
Descriptions can be as long or short as you wish.
You may optionally provide a list of 1 to 3 pieces of music in each edo.
An example of what this section may look like:
9edo
9edo sounds primal and earthy.
9edo allows for harmony in the 2.5.11 subgroup: that is any interval ratios whose numerator and denominator be built by multiplying 2s, 5s and/or 11s.
Contrast this with the usual 12edo which uses the 2.3.5.17.19 subgroup.
9edo music that shows off these properties:
- 9edo loop 2 by Æon Ent Farm (2022)
10edo
10edo sounds spacious and futuristic.
10edo allows for harmony in the 2.3.7.13.17 subgroup: that is any interval ratios whose numerator and denominator be built by multiplying 2s, 3s, 7s, 13s or 17s.
Contrast this with the usual 12edo which uses the 2.3.5.17.19 subgroup.
10edo music that shows off these properties:
- Drive by Beats BasteIn :3 (2023)
11edo
11edo sounds foreboding and hyperreal.
10edo allows for harmony in the 2.7.9.11.15.17 subgroup: that is any interval ratios whose numerator and denominator be built by multiplying 2s, 7s, 9s, 11s, 15s or 17s.
Contrast this with the usual 12edo which uses the 2.3.5.17.19 subgroup.
11edo music that shows off these properties:
- Longwayaway People by Sevish (2015)
See also
This last section is optional. Here you may add links to things like guides to composing with each of your chosen edos or any other relevant starter materials. Or just anything of any kind that you think relates to the rest of the page.
Add your page to Category:Guides to choosing an edo.