Xenharmonic Lights And Music

While the piano is old and familiar, the notes on this piano keyboard are tuned in a way much older than standard 12edo tuning. These ancient notes can also be found on two modern microtonal keyboards made here in Portland. The colors of lights are visual aids to translate between 3 different keyboards. The key grid can switch to different layouts.

The colors of the keys represent their closest and most obvious frequency ratio prime factors. Primes 2 and 3 are white. 3 is called Pythagorean tuning. Prime 5 is yellow and green. Prime 7 is blue and red. Exploring primes 2-7 is a gateway to higher primes 11, 13, 17, and 19. Not only have these notes been loved through ancient times, they are foundational to music synthesis and perception.