harpsichords and temperaments

[A440A@aol.com]

 Steven B Moore asks;


>Does anyone have a harpsichord, organ, virginal, piano-forte, etc. in their
>home (that they play often) that is in a temperament other than equal?
>Does this begin to confuse your ear after a few years so that you are
>second guessing or piano tuning work?

        Glad you asked that!  I keep several temperaments on my own pianos at
home, and quite often will use various tunings on freshly strung pianos, as
they make excellent "sketch pads" for listening and experimenting with one's
own sense of tonality. (
       After reading Owen Jorgenson's "Tuning", my life sorta changed.
       Now, I have a totally different perspective on what equal temperament
sounds like.  The precision and inescapable tempering of ET has its own
distinctive sound, a sound that I found to be much more identifiable after
becoming familiar with other temperaments.
       We have to remember,  ET is only one of many tunings,  and compared to
the longevity that Pythagorean exhibited,  it is still a pup!

( I usually ramble  in/ on the temperaments for way too long,  it is a
subject that calls forth extremely divergent and often, passionately held
views,  so I will quite while not on fire (:)}}}

regards,
Ed Foote