The problem of the definition of microtonality

Microtone is a territory that people like to explore in between the semitone on the keyboard. The prefix "micro-" means small. So we need something to compare in order to say it is smaller. The 12-ET of an octave is a kind of default that we mostly agree with. Western music has a bigger say in music culture. 

The definition of microtone from grove music dictionary, there are two major definitions of microtone, one is any musical interval or pitch difference distinctly smaller than a semitone; the other refers to music with intervals markedly different from the (logarithmic) 12th part of the octave and its multiples, including such scales with fewer than 12 pitches (Griffiths et al., 2001).

The first definition I am fine with that. But the second definition, for scales with fewer than 12 pitches for example in some Asian tuning like gamelan, does not express the "micro-" idea compared to 12-ET. Calling it non-standard tuning or temperament is better and avoids confusion.

Non-standard or microtonal, these kinds of words often have a meaning that the western system is always the standard. It is just the westerner's point of view when viewing other cultures to create separation. Other cultures have their own standards and can be varied from each other. Like the atonal, just non-tonal, there are countless methods that expand or avoid the traditional tonal system. It just left with an umbrella term and without accuracy. Instead of calling it non-standard, calling it non-modern-Western or even the origin of the tuning or temperament is more informative.

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