melskala

MelSkala is a modular framework for defining and rendering musical scales and temperaments. It aims to provide a flexible approach that can describe traditional equal-tempered scales as well as microtonal and non-Western tunings by treating scale degrees as adjustable parameters within a common lattice.

Originating from the MelSkala Collective, a distributed group of composers and software engineers, development began in the early 2010s. The project released its first reference implementation in 2015 and has since evolved through community contributions and open specifications.

Core concepts include tunings expressed as a sequence of steps, the MelSkala Tuning Language (MSLT) for scripting scales, and a standard mapping to MIDI pitch numbers. Scales can be defined as sequences of cents, fractions, or proportional intervals, and can interpolate between families such as diatonic, pentatonic, and chromatic with continuous parameters.

Applications include music education, research in acoustics and cognition, and creative practice in electronic and acoustic music. Software tools support hosting MelSkala scales in digital audio workstations via VST/AU plugins, and compatibility with the MIDI Tuning Standard allows external synthesizers to retune accurately.

Reception has been mixed; supporters credit MelSkala with making microtonality more accessible, while critics note its complexity for casual performers. The project remains active with ongoing updates and interoperability efforts.