This report describes the problem of constructing musical scales. Twelve-tone equal temperament has long been the standard in Western music. But why twelve tones? Theoretical studies have shown that 19, 34 and 53 tones are also useable.
The report describes a study comparing tunings with 12 and 19 tones. Six subjects attended a test where they listened to chords and melodies from both of the tunings and then picked the tuning they preferred most.
A software synthesizer was also created to make the tunings available for comparison.
The study showed a strong correlation between preferred tuning and how the chords were played. It also showed that a majority of the subjects preferred nineteen tone tuned major chords but twelve tone tuned minor chords. However, a winner was not chosen since the result was equally distributed between the two tunings.