Temperaments

Conrad Hoffsommer hoffsoco@martin.luther.edu
Sun, 25 Jan 1998 13:35:56 -0600


Bill and List,

<snip>
>Why is it an unethical practice to deliberately tune a non ET ...
<Snip>
>Who should be informing whom of what the tuning will not be?  How much
>technical information needs to be disclosed before a tuning can be considered
>to be done ethically?
<snip>  
>If a piano is tuned in a non ET and the customer is pleased with the work but
>was not informed that the temperament is not equal, is that a basis to claim
>that what the technician has done is wrong?
>
>Bill Bremmer RPT

IMHO I think the issue here is intent, not result.

scenaria:

If the tech rider you are handed for a performance of a visiting artist
states the the artist requires the piano to be tuned @A440Hz the day of,
etc., etc.,
you tune it in whatever temperament you are most comfortable and the artist
is happy - no problem.

If you get a tech rider which requests _ET_ @440Hz blah, blah, blah and you
attempt _ET_, miss it because of it's impossibility, artist is happy - no
problem.

If you get a tech rider which requests _ET_ @440Hz, etc, and you consciously
and deliberately tune it something else, but artist is still happy - big
problem. You have not lived up to the contract and have committed what could
be construed as fraud.

Zippergate is showing all of us that things can be wrong even if the exactly
right question was not asked. Please try not to leave yourself open to
litigation.


Conrad


Conrad Hoffsommer, RPT		hoffsoco@martin.luther.edu
Luther College Music Technician	pno2ner@salamander.com
Decorah, Iowa 52101		Voice 	(319)-387-1204
				Fax	(319)-387-1076

Oh wad some power the giftie gie us; to see oursel's as others see us!
It wad some monie a blunder free us, and foolish notion. - Robert Burns



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