Tunings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A process of adjusting the pitch or tone of musical instruments
2. The specific settings or modifications made to achieve desired sound quality in music
3. Variations in the frequency of vibration to produce different musical effects in instruments

Etymology: "Tunings" is the plural of "tuning", the noun for the act of adjusting the pitch of an instrument. Plurals of this kind usually name the different ways an instrument can be set up, so a guitarist speaking of "tunings" means the various arrangements of string pitches, such as standard tuning or open tuning, rather than the act itself. The noun "tuning" is formed from the verb "tune" with the suffix "-ing", which turns the verb into a noun for the action or its result. The verb "tune" itself is the older word, related to "tone", which traces back through Old French and Latin to Greek.