>to my ears it sounds unlistenable, but I'm always curious if that's just a cultural thing.
If you're musically inclined, I highly recommend the software synthesizer "2032" (freeware). It allows you to mess with the tuning in a wide range of different ways and test out what a number of exotic tuning systems actually sound like. 5-tone equal temperament and 7-tone equal temperament sound surprisingly good for such a coarse division of the octave, and if I understand correctly these systems are actually used in some cultures.
Aside from those two, it's very much worth experimenting with quarter-comma meantone -- the tuning system that preceded equal temperament in the west. The purity of the major thirds is striking, and the distinction between diatonic and chromatic semitones (and therefore between e.g. C sharp and D flat) adds a sort of sophistication that I find useful in some ways -- especially since the tonal relationships in Western music map onto these distinctions more or less perfectly. However, it took a few days for this tuning to stop sounding slightly "wrong" to my ears; it was a little unsettling to feel how wrong it sounded while knowing that it was actually more "right" than what I was used to.
Playing around with this software it's become abundantly clear to me that yes, it is just a cultural thing.
If you're musically inclined, I highly recommend the software synthesizer "2032" (freeware). It allows you to mess with the tuning in a wide range of different ways and test out what a number of exotic tuning systems actually sound like. 5-tone equal temperament and 7-tone equal temperament sound surprisingly good for such a coarse division of the octave, and if I understand correctly these systems are actually used in some cultures.
Aside from those two, it's very much worth experimenting with quarter-comma meantone -- the tuning system that preceded equal temperament in the west. The purity of the major thirds is striking, and the distinction between diatonic and chromatic semitones (and therefore between e.g. C sharp and D flat) adds a sort of sophistication that I find useful in some ways -- especially since the tonal relationships in Western music map onto these distinctions more or less perfectly. However, it took a few days for this tuning to stop sounding slightly "wrong" to my ears; it was a little unsettling to feel how wrong it sounded while knowing that it was actually more "right" than what I was used to.
Playing around with this software it's become abundantly clear to me that yes, it is just a cultural thing.
You can get 2032 from here: http://www.dynamictonality.com/2032.htm