Ableton Live users with an interest in space between spaces can rejoice! Microtuner is a free Max For Live plugin allowing you to go beyond regular tuning. With the Microtuner MIDI device, we can explore the world of microtonal scales!

Ableton Microtuner works by dividing up octaves, more so than usual. To be more specific, it works with ratios of divisions of octaves, reports MusicRadar.

Microtuning allows us to find the notes between semitones. Notes that have previously been inaccessible to us with traditional gear. Rather than playing the tones and semitones already available to us on a keyboard, Microtuner grants us access to notes that sit between the keys on a piano.

Furthermore, you can import any scale – major, min7th, minor, etc. as basic examples – and save them in Microtuner for reuse in the future. On the other hand, you can create your own scales from the ground up! Available parameters include number of pitches (up to 128 are available), octave frequency ratio, and pitch distribution randomisation present resourceful tools for crafting your own micro scale. Additionally, Lead and Follow modes allow us to sync multiple tuning systems across entire tracks for total harmony. If that wasn’t enough, Microtuner lets us blend two scales in real-time for a range of creative options.

Finally, Microtuner gives us support for Scala tuning files. Scala tuning files map MIDI note numbers to different frequencies that aren’t the standard 12 tones discussed above. You can download over 5,000 scales for free from the Scala archive as we speak!

Ableton Live Suite/Standard Max For Live users can grab Microtuner right now for free from the Ableton website.