Scala Home Page

Scala Home Page

Scala is a powerful software
tool for experimentation with musical tunings, such as just intonation
scales, equal and historical temperaments, microtonal and macrotonal scales,
and non-Western scales. It supports scale creation, editing, comparison,
analysis, storage, tuning of electronic instruments, and MIDI file generation
and tuning conversion. All this is integrated into a single application with
a wide variety of mathematical routines and scale creation methods. Scala is
ideal for the exploration of tunings and becoming familiar with the concepts
involved. In addition, a very large library of scales is freely available for
Scala and can be used for analysis or music creation.

Great care has been taken to make Scala's functions and operations very
general. The range of parameter values that commands accept is made as general as possible.
Often various forms of input are allowed. No arbitrary restrictions are made. Scales are stored in a
flexible format. Intervals can be entered and
saved as either ratios or cents values and be intermixed within a scale.

Constructing scales from scratch is one of Scala's strengths.
Kinds of scales that can be made with Scala include: equal temperaments,
well-temperaments, Pythagorean (meantone) scales, Euler-Fokker genera,
Fokker periodicity blocks,
harmonic scales, Partch diamonds, Polychordal scales,
Dwarf scales and Wilson Combination Product Sets.
In addition, a set of command files is included to build other kinds of scales such as
triadic scales, circular mirrorings, circulating temperaments, etc., and to serve as examples.

Features
Download
Distribution
References

Examples
Help Index
Related Links

Features

Graphical user interface. It incorporates the command line interface
of the old console version but also provides dialogs for almost all functions. The
remaining functions can be used by typing Scala commands.

Plays scale tones via the soundcard. Several screens allow different playing
with tones of a scale via the soundcard's MIDI synthesizer or external MIDI instrument.

Command line interface that recognises more than 850 commands for scale
analysis and manipulation. They are case insensitive and most can be
abbreviated. In addition, the command syntax includes powerful features similar
to those of a programming language.

Extensive on-line help. The built-in help function describes every
command in detail and also includes useful information on other related
topics. The help text is in HTML so you can view it with a browser and print it.
In addition, the "tip of the day" function provides many useful hints and
introduces features.

Extensible functionality through command scripts. You can create a
script file containing Scala commands with any text editor, and then execute
it inside Scala.

Can capture screen output to text files. Exporting scale data to
other music software, such as Csound, is straightforward. A set of lexical
functions is provided to convert program data to text.

Exports tuning data to a variety of synthesizers with an internal tuning
table. You can save tuning data in a MIDI file or send it directly to your
instrument or sound card. Supported tuning dump formats include among others:

AccSone crusherX, crusherX-Mac!
Alphakanal Automat
Aodyo Instruments Anyma Phi
Arturia Pigments
Ashun Sound Machines Hydrasynth
Audio Damage Quanta, Phosphor
BeepStreet Sunrizer
Big Tick Angelina, Rainbow and Rhino softsynths
Biptunia Synths Microtone 5000, Simple Microtonal Sampler, Freakbone 9000
Bitheadz Unity softsynth
Cakewalk Dimension Pro
Cakewalk Rapture
Cakewalk Z3ta+ softsynth
Camel Audio Alchemy and Cameleon5000 softsynths
Casio AT-3, AT-5, CTK-6000, CTK-6200, CTK-6250, CTK-6300, CTK-7000, CTK-7200, CTK-7300, WK-6500, WK-6600, WK-7500, WK-7600
Celemony Melodyne 2
ChucK
DashSignature EVE one (not two)
DaTuner
Dave Smith Instruments OB-6, Prophet 6, Prophet 12 and Pro 2
Devine Machine OTR88
E-mu Morpheus
E-mu Proteus series
Ensoniq EPS/EPS16/ASR10
Ensoniq TS-10/TS-12
EplayOrgan virtual organ
Fluidsynth and Qsynth softsynths
FXpansion Strobe2
Hauptwerk virtual organ
HERCs series, Abakos Pro softsynths
H-Pi Instruments microsynth and Xentone
Humdrum hum2mid program
Image-Line Harmor
Kemper Digital Virus
Korg M1, M1R octave tuning dump
Korg X5DR octave tuning dump
Korg OASYS PCI soundcard (and softsynths supporting its .tun tuning textfile)
LinPlug Albino 2, Alpha 2, CronoX, MorphoX, Octopus, Organ 3, SaxLab and Spectral softsynths
Macomate 88 VST
Manytone ManyStation, ManyGuitar, ManyOne softsynths
Marion Systems MSR-2
Mark Henning AnaMark softsynth
Max/MSP
Max Magic Microtuner for Max/MSP and Pluggo softsynths
MICROTONE 5000
MIDI Tuning Standard (both bulk tuning dump and single-note tuning change, 3 byte),
supported in Timidity and Audio Compositor, E-mu: Proteus 3,
UltraProteus, Audity/Proteus 1000 and 2000 series, Virtuoso 2000, Proteus FX, Hydrasynth, Biptunia Synths, FabFilter Twin 3,
Orbit, Planet Phatt, B3, Carnaval, Ensoniq: ASR-X, MR Rack, MR-61, MR-76,
ZR-76, Turtle Beach: Multisound, Monterey, Maui, Tropez, Rio
MIDI Tuning Standard 2-byte octave tuning dump
MIDI Tuning Standard 1-byte octave tuning dump
MIDI to CSound
Modartt Pianoteq 4
Modor NF-1, NF-1m
MOTU Ethno 2 and Digital Performer
Mutagene Mukoco, Macomate 88
Novation Bass Station II, Peak, Summit
Omringen Oblivion
OpenMPT ModPlug Tracker
Native Instruments Absynth 2 (via .gly file)
Native Instruments FM7 and Pro-52, Pro-53
Native Instruments Kontakt 2 (via script file)
Native Instruments Reaktor (via semitones file, frequency file or NTF file)
Oberheim OB-Mx
Plaka Physical Modeling softsynth
Plugin Boutique VirtualCZ
Pure Data
Rob Papen Predator 3, Quad, Vecto, RoCoder
Robin Schmidt's Straightliner softsynth
Roland GS & JV/XP families
Roland Fantom-X6/X7/X8
Roland V-Synth Version 2.0
Roland Virtual Sound Canvas, SC-8850
Scale Workshop
Simple Microtonal Sampler
Simple Microtonal Synth
Smart Electronix Foorius
Sobanth
Spectrasonics Omnisphere softsynth
Stone Voices PolyGAS
Synapse Audio Orion Pro softsynth
Synthesis Technology MOTM-650
Synthogy Ivory
TAL BassLine-101, J-8, Mod, Sampler, U-NO-LX
ThumbJam
Timidity MIDI to audio renderer
Tobybear Helios softsynth and MicroTuner VST plugin
Togu Audio Line TAL-Sampler, TAL-BassLine-101, TAL-U-NO-LX
TransFormSynth
Tubbutec 1oh1 µTune
TuneLab
U-He Zebra2, ACE, DIVA and Bazille
UVI Falcon
VAZ Plus, 2001 and Modular softsynths
VirSyn Cube, Poseidon and TERA 2 softsynths
Waldorf Wave, Microwave and Quantum
Wallander Instruments WIVI Standard and Professional
WayOutWare TimewARP 2600
Wusik Station, Wusik 8000 and Ravernator
Xen-Arts IVOR2, XenFont2 and Xenharmonic FMTS
Xenharmonic FMTS VSTi
Xfer Records Serum
Xponaut Voice Tweaker
Yamaha DX7II/TX802
Yamaha SY77/TG77/SY99/VL-1/VL-7
Yamaha TX81Z/DX11/V50 (both octave and full keyboard bulk data)
Yamaha XG family
Yamaha VL70m
Zebra 2.0 softsynth
Zefer Serum

Nowadays many software synthesizers like AlsaModularSynth, Tobybear Helios, MAZ Sound VSampler,
Orion Pro, VirSyn Cube, Cantor, TERA 2, rgc:audio z3ta+, Cakewalk Rapture, and Yoshimi have adopted
the Scala scale file format (see for a complete list) as a means to tune
them instead of with a native tuning dump file. There's also
a do-it-yourself hardware synth: PreenFM2 frequency modulation sound generator
Other instruments can be supported through modification of an external data file,
if the system exclusive data format is straightforward.
Not all synthesizers have microtuning support in the form of a tuning table,
or one with sufficient resolution, and therefore cannot be directly tuned by Scala.
Hopefully more future synthesizers will be equipped with a full keyboard variable tuning
capability. Be careful to check this before you buy.

Flexible keyboard mapping. For scales containing more or less than
12 tones per octave, you can easily assign scale degrees to the standard piano
keyboard by using a keyboard mapping. Scala supplies an example set of keyboard
mappings for scales of various sizes that you can quickly adapt to your needs.

Can retune existing MIDI files. You can convert a standard MIDI file
to be in any tuning via pitch bend commands or a MIDI Tuning Standard tuning specification.

Can relay real-time MIDI. You play on a MIDI keyboard to a soundcard or external
MIDI instrument and have the tuning changed via pitch bend commands. This way you don't need
an instrument with microtuning support in order to play in a given tuning.

Can create MIDI files from a microtonal score. The score is a
text file which can be created with an editor or generated from a MIDI file by
Scala. The format is described in Scala sequence file format.
The tuning is done either with pitch bend commands or MIDI Tuning Standard real-time single-note changes.

Recognises more than 3300 musical modes. You can check any scale
to see if it approximates an existing mode.

More than 800 note naming systems built in. Notes can be named and shown
in a consistent way with microtonal accidentals.

Recognises more than 900 chords. You can check the occurrence of these chords in any scale.

Recognises more than 650 rational intervals.

Recognises more than 6600 regular temperaments. You can check the name by giving a generator and period.

More than 5200 scales available. Download these for free from this website, see the Download page.

Can create WAVE files with sinewave chords with arbitrary partials which can decay independently.

Reliable. Scala is written in the programming language
Ada.

Available on multiple platforms: Windows, GNU Linux, MacOS X (10.4 or higher)
and Unix, see the Download page.

Free. Please read the distribution section below.

See examples of some of Scala's features.

Screenshots

Click on the pictures to get a larger image.

Distribution
Scala was created by Manuel Op de Coul in the Netherlands. E-mail:
coul@huygens-fokker.org
Suggestions for improvements are always welcome. Contact the author in the event of questions or problems.

User interface languages available: English and Dutch. Help to create more translations is welcome.

Scala is freeware without warranty and may not be sold, modified, or
distributed for sale in combination with commercial products. It may only be
distributed as one package containing all the files mentioned here and for free.
Go to the Download page.

Related Links

Ada programming
Ada programming language
Bibliography of tuning literature
ChucK
Csound
Gervill software synthesizer
Get Ada Now
Huygens-Fokker foundation
Learning Ada
List of microtonal software plugins
List of regular temperaments in Scala
loopMIDI (Windows)
Microtonal music on CD
Microtonal Synthesis: tuning capabilities of synthesizers
Pocket Gamelan (about Scala and Pd)
Scala for dummies
Scala home page in Chinese
Scala scale file format
Scala sequence file format
Timidity MIDI to sound converter
Tutorial for creating TUN files with Scala
(AnaMark, VAZ Plus, 2001, Modular; Big Tick Angelina, Rainbow, Rhino; LinPlug Albino2, Alpha2, CronoX, Octopus;
Cameleon5000; VirSyn Cube, Tobybear Helios, TERA 2, Wusik WusikStation, Zebra 2.0, etc. softsynths)
Using
Scala to retune common practice music in meantone
Xenharmonic (microtonal wiki) page about Scala

Development software
Scala was developed in Ada with the following excellent free tools:

Excel Writer
GNAT: Gnu Ada Translator
GtkAda
Gtk+
Zip-Ada

27 Nov 2026

Scala is a powerful software tool designed for experimentation with musical tunings, offering a comprehensive suite of features for scale creation, analysis, and manipulation. Created by Manuel Op de Coul in the Netherlands, it supports a wide range of tunings, including just intonation, equal and historical temperaments, and microtonal scales—spanning Western and non-Western musical traditions. The application’s strength lies in its ability to construct scales from scratch, providing users with the flexibility to explore diverse musical systems.

The software incorporates a graphical user interface alongside a command-line interface, enabling both novice and experienced users to effectively utilize its capabilities. It possesses an extensive library of over 5200 scales accessible for free download, categorized by temperament, mode, and period. Scala’s interface allows for real-time scale changes using pitch bend commands or MIDI Tuning Standard specifications, facilitating experimentation with various tunings in real-time through a MIDI keyboard or soundcard.

Key features include the generation of WAVE files with sinewave chords containing arbitrary partials—capable of independent decay—and the capability to convert standard MIDI files into any desired tuning. Scala supports over 3300 musical modes, allowing you to check any scale to see if it approximates an existing mode. The application recognizes more than 800 note naming systems, displaying notes with microtonal accidentals in a consistent manner, and supports more than 900 chords. Scala’s core is written in the Ada programming language, utilizing tools such as Excel Writer, GNAT, GTKAda, and GTK+. It is available for Windows, GNU Linux, MacOS X, and Unix operating systems.

The software's architecture facilitates modularity and extensibility, offering the ability to create scripts for customized scale generation and manipulation using Scala sequence files and adapting to external data files for synthesizers. Scala caters to a diverse range of synthesizer types, including those with microtuning support (such as AlsaModularSynth, Tobybear Helios, VirSyn Cube, and others) along with traditional sound synthesis instruments supporting its scale file format. Scala’s capabilities extend to real-time MIDI relaying through a MIDI keyboard, allowing for instantaneous adjustments in tone using pitch bend commands. The development relies heavily on a strong community and ongoing user support.