Websites for learning and using microtones

Play microtones in your web browser, or even build your own instruments and scales

The internet’s microtonal landscape is a fascinating mix of academic rigor, DIY software engineering, and vibrant community hubs. Because microtonality (or “xenharmonics”) often lives outside the mainstream music industry, its online presence is highly decentralized but deeply interconnected.

The following overview outlines the major pillars of the microtonal web, ranging from theoretical encyclopedias to modern browser-based composition tools.

1. DAW Plugins

For those ready to compose, these sites host the specific tools needed to integrate microtonality into a digital audio workstation (DAW).

• Entonal Studio (entonal.studio): A modern plugin that acts as a “tuning layer” for your other synths. It simplifies the process of retuning existing VSTs that might not natively support microtonality.
• Tuning Plugins by Xen-Arts (xen-arts.net): A collection of specialized virtual instruments designed from the ground up to be microtonal. They are often built to handle specific challenges like “micro-pitch-bend” and complex temperament layouts.

2. Encyclopedias

If you are looking for the “source of truth” for tuning theory, these sites are the primary repositories of collective knowledge.

• Xenharmonic Wiki (en.xen.wiki): This is the undisputed center of the xenharmonic universe. It functions as a massive, community-driven database covering everything from EDOs (Equal Divisions of the Octave) and Just Intonation to complex concepts like Regular Temperament Theory. It is highly technical and provides the mathematical groundwork for most modern microtonal music.
• Tonalsoft Encyclopedia (tonalsoft.com): Created by Joseph Monzo, this is one of the oldest and most comprehensive online resources for just intonation and microtonal theory. It reads more like a formal dictionary/encyclopedia and is excellent for looking up specific interval ratios and historical tuning systems.

3. Structured Learning and Community

Because microtonality can be intimidating, several sites focus on education and social interaction.

• Xenharmonic Alliance (Facebook/Discord): Much of the daily conversation has moved to social media. The Xenharmonic Alliance groups on Facebook and the Xenharmonic Alliance Discord server are where composers share tracks and debate theory in real-time.
• Microtonal University (microtonaluniversity.org): An online educational initiative that offers courses, lectures, and workshops led by prominent microtonalists. It’s a great place for formal study if you want to move beyond self-teaching.
• Sevish’s Resources (sevish.com/music-resources): The artist Sevish has curated one of the most practical “starting line” pages on the web. It lists plugins, DAWs, and hardware that are microtonal-friendly, making it an essential bookmark for producers.

4. Scale Construction and Exploration Tools

Creating microtonal music requires specialized software to generate tuning files (like .scl or .tun) that synthesizers can understand.

• Scale Workshop (scaleworkshop.com): Developed by the composer Sevish and others, this is a modern, browser-based alternative to Scala. It allows users to generate, modify, and export tuning files without installing any software. It also allows playing the notes of any tuning in real-time with a computer keyboard, using various different synth presets and even like reverb and chorus. It’s the most beginner-friendly entry point for anyone wanting to “hear” different tunings instantly.
• Scala (huygens-fokker.org/scala): Scala is the “industry standard” freeware for experimentation with musical tunings. It has a massive archive of over 5,000 scales. While its interface is a bit dated, it remains the most powerful tool for scale analysis and conversion.
• Leimma & Ishtar (ishtar.monad.xyz): Created by the Khyam Allami project, these are beautiful, browser-based tools specifically designed to explore non-Western tunings and generative melody. They are particularly useful for those interested in Maqam or traditional scales that don’t fit into the 12-tone grid.

5. For Guitarists and Luthiers

• Xentar: Microtonal Guitar Playground (xentar.net): Created by Ben Spees, Xentar is a browser-based virtual fretboard that lets users explore microtonal tunings through the familiar interface of a guitar neck. It supports multiple scale construction approaches — including harmonics, subharmonics, and custom scale imports — and allows players to compose and share chord patterns directly in the browser. With a built-in synthesizer featuring guitar and keyboard waveforms, arpeggiation, and real-time effects like drive and reverb, it is one of the most hands-on and immediately playable tools available for those curious about how microtonality sounds and feels on a stringed instrument.
• FretFind2D (ekips.org/tools/guitar/fretfind2d): FretFind2D is a browser-based fretboard design tool that goes well beyond simple fret spacing calculators — it models the entire neck as a system of two-dimensional line segments, enabling the design of instruments with multiple scale lengths, non-parallel frets, and just or meantone tunings. It accepts either equal temperament inputs (using the Nth root of two) or Scala SCL files, making it directly compatible with the broader ecosystem of microtonal scale libraries. The tool outputs precise technical diagrams suitable for luthiers actually building microtonal instruments, bridging the gap between tuning theory and physical instrument construction.