Cents Frequency Entry Step Mode

Controls: Gen Dlg >> Stream >> Tone Freq >> Step Mode >> Cents
Macros: Fstep, FstepCent

This mode may be selected from the Frequency Entry Step Mode dialog, which opens via the Step mode button that indicates the current mode. That button is located under many frequency entry controls in the Generator. The mode setting applies to most Generator frequency entry controls. The mode only affects values during entry or adjustment; it does not change previously-entered frequencies.

Use Cents mode to produce tones that fall on exact musical note frequencies, whether you use scrolling or keyboard entry. Equal note spacing is assumed here, with the default being the standard "equal tempered" system used in most Western music. This system has 12 "semitone" twelfth-octave steps per octave, each step being 2^(1/12) times the one below it, an increase of about six percent (2^1/12 = 1.05946). The standard reference frequency is 440.000 Hz at the A above middle C on a piano, sometimes known as "concert A".

The equal tempered tuning system defines one "cent" as one percent of one twelfth-octave (semitone) step. The default here is 100.00 cents to get standard notes. Most listeners require a change of at least 2 cents (about 0.1%) in order to detect a difference between two tones under ideal conditions.

Macro Notes:

Fstep=Cent or Fstep=4 sets Cents Step Mode.

FstepCent=200 sets the step size to 200 cents (two semitones).

See also Frequency Entry Step Mode, Octave frequency Entry Step Mode, Ratios and Octaves, Standard Musical Note Frequencies.