Tunings and Temperament

“The Musical Scale is not one, not ‘natural,’ nor even founded necessarily on the law of the constitution of musical sound … but very diverse, very artificial, and very capricious.”
— Alexander Ellis, On the Musical Scale of Various Nations, 1885

Below is the current catalogue of available tunings.

Nyx (probably) offers the greatest range of tunings for the NAS flute of any maker.

Most of these are demonstrated on the piano. The sound is intentionally quite dry so you can hear the tones clearly (not possible with beautifying reverb). Please imagine the possibilities of the scales on the flute, and perhaps listen to compositions in a scale that piques your interest.

Nyx offers the following tunings:

The minor pentatonic scale

The gold standard of NAS flute tunings. Subtle and versatile, this is the scale we never grow tired of. Available for all flutes.

The diatonic major scale

AKA the ionic mode. This is your familiar major scale, though seldom heard on a NAS flute. Available for lowest flutes only.

The diatonic natural minor scale

Why ‘natural’ minor? It is the relative minor (the 6th, or aeolian mode) of its major counterpart, thus contains the same notes. Available for the lowest flutes only.

The hijaz

AKA the double harmonic, gypsy, byzantine…Enter the intoxicating sound of the middle-east. The flattened 2nd sets the tone. Available for lowest and mid-range flutes.

The Hungarian minor

AKA the double harmonic minor. This is a harmonic minor with a raised 4th. Dark and fascinating. Available for lowest flutes only.

The major pentatonic scale

Very common in popular music styles - I’m sure hearing the scale will bring to mind at least one well-known tune. Available for all flutes.

The sakura pentatonic

Perhaps the scale most evocative of Japan. Immortalized in the West by the famous piece ‘Sakura Theme and Variations’. Notably, this scale lacks a 3rd, but the flat 6 and flat 2 give it a minor color. Available for all flutes.

the hirajoshi pentatonic

Another delicious scale from Japan, this one perhaps a little more familiar to Western ears with its minor 3rd and minor 6. Available for all flutes

About Temperament and why should we care?

‘Temperament‘ refers to the distance in pitch between intervals in the scale, and how those distances are determined.

12 tone equal temperament is ubiquitous—this is the way Western instruments have been tuned since circa 1850. In this system the octave is the only mathematically pure harmonic - every other interval is a little out of tune. Why is it so popular? Simple: Equal temperament allows us to play our instruments in every key. This great blessing, however, comes with a curse. We are never truly in tune, being a little out of tune in every key.

Because many players see the NAS flute as a vehicle for solo, meditative playing, we offer just intonation. In this method, the 3rds and 5ths are perfectly, mathematically in tune. The difference is audible. The downside is, the flute will not play well in other keys. So what? Our flutes are pretty much confined to one key anyway, so why should this matter? It doesn’t - unless you are playing with others or to a jam track. Then there will be weird dissonances.

Thus, it is best for the solo player. Here is a clip on youtube which compares the two: just intonation vs equal temperament

—How does just intonation compare to tuning to 432hz?

The A = 432hz tuning simply flattens every tone by 8 hz. You are still in ‘artificial’ equal temperament. Just intonation changes the distance in pitch between notes in the scale. It changes the relationship between the notes.

And yes, you can order a flute in 432 with just intonation — why not?

— Just intonation is available in all keys and registers.

if you’d like your flute tuned to any of the options above, please leave a message.