ramblin'

[Jim]

Dr. Ralph:

Please rest assured I am going on 72. That's good advice to Richard.
The 4ths and 5ths do not change much, once you have decided on what
octave width you can live with. The inharmonicity curve of many pianos
causes the 4ths and 5ths to not increase as the theory usually predicts,
at least in the temperament octave. Many systems have been used to fill
out the rest of the scale. My older brother who taught me could tune by
4ths and 5ths with no reference to the 3rds and 6ths and come out very
close every time. Now, that is real skill. I never was that good.

Jim Coleman, Sr.

On Fri, 20 Jun 1997 rmartin21@juno.com wrote:

> Rich
> 
> I don't think you ramble at all. I like your style. Of course at my age I
> couldn't recognise ramblin' any way. Incidentely, I happen to be 67 this
> year. I know that devil Jim Bryant is dying to bring it up so I'm beating
> him to the punch. My only fond hope is that ol' Jim
> Coleman is older than I. If he's not...I don't want to really hear about
> it.
> 
> To wider octaves: I started tuning by 4ths and 5ths years ago then
> graduated(?) to the thirds system with various themes including both end
> from the middle. Lately when I tune aurally I have digressed to my youth
> and am tuning the old way again. The major reason is 5ths. I like them
> almost pure. This ,of course is going to leave the octave wide.
> 
> Try tuning A4, then drop down to E4, setting a fourth you can live with.
> (1 to 1 1/2 beats wide). Then tune down from the same A4 a 5th to D4.
> Make the 5th nearly pure. Now tune from E4 to A3 a 5th as pure as the
> upper one. Test A3 with D4 to see if the 4th beats about the same as your
> other 4th. Lastly, check your A3-A4 octave and see if you can live with
> the resultant wide octave. If it's too wide then you'll have to put up
> with 5th that are a little faster than you'd like, or become accustomed
> to wider octaves.
> 
> Tuning up and down from the temperment, check each note first with the
> 5th and 4th below so that you'll maintain the same 5ths and 4ths that you
> started with.
> 
> Now all you need do is fill in the rest.  E4 down to B3,etc. or by third
> if you wish. Either way you will have predetermined the width of your
> 5th, 4ths and octaves by tuning the first 4 notes.
> 
> Just one way that may aid you. We all do what we hear easily.
> 
> Ralph Martin 
>