What does it mean to be out of tune? First we need to look at what it means to tune. To tune is to bring an instrument to the desired pitch. The desired pitch. Desired is subjective because it is unique to your own perspective.

Calling something out of tune reflects your expectations as much as the music itself.

Why is music commonly perceived as out of tune? It’s because the heard pitches don’t align with expectation. Pitch expectation comes from musical exposure. Every culture has its own standard way of intonating pitches. If you’re musically trained then this expectation effect is even stronger.

This is normal and you’re entitled to your own biases in pitch expectation.

It’s often the hearing of other cultures’ music that causes the experience of out-of-tuneness. The feeling may also come when listening to xenharmonic music (music that uses tuning systems which sound radically different to the 12-tone equally tempered system).

There may also be innate psychoacoustic factors for experiencing something as out of tune, but I’m writing only about the learned factors today.

Experiencing something as out of tune is usually a good thing because, in most cases as musicians, we’re playing in groups, with others of a shared musical heritage, therefore we rely on traditional pitch expectations to provide the structure for cooperation. By noticing out-of-tuneness and adjusting intonation accordingly, the ensemble produces a more harmonious result.

As a musician of the xenharmonic tradition, I often receive comment that my music sounds out of tune. Yes, these new pitch relationships do sound out of tune at first. If you’re intrigued, you might relisten until new pitch expectations form within you. Then the music starts to sound in tune. It’s a wonder how flexible the mind can be.