Temperaments

[Billbrpt]

In a message dated 98-01-26 07:32:08 EST, Micheal Jorgensen writes:

<<...though I certainly respect ET and think it is remarkable
 how close tuners actually come to it in practice.  >>

In a message dated 98-01-25 16:18:10 EST, Jim Bryant writes:

<< b.  If the 'contract', as agreed to did not specify a temperament to use
and you used a temperament that was not the 'norm' of the community then the
contract would not have been fulfilled faithfully.  Even if the customer
absolutely loved your temperament you would not have lived up to the
expectations of the 'norm' and the contract was not fulfilled faithfully.  In
this situation the customer loved your tuning and accepted it as presented
even though it was not in accordance with the contract.
    c.  If the 'contract', as agreed to, did not specify a temperament to use
and you used a temperament that was not the 'norm' of the community then the
contract would not have been fulfilled faithfully. If in this instance the
customer hated or was at least unhappy with the temperament, and  desired you
to either put a "normal" tuning on it or to leave the premisies, what then do
you say? "well mam you just don't appreciate the advantages of this
'historical temperament" and expect to be paid?  In this instance you have no
right to expect to be paid as you did not live up to the "implicit contract".
   You can turn and twist this all you like but the act of putting on a non
"normal" tuning on a piano without the advice, consent, and knowledge of your
customer is unethical and is not tempered by how well or poorly any tuning was
done.
   When it comes to "historical temperaments" Bill your quest should be to
'educate' not 'dictate'.>>
  
There are no statutes on the book here in Madison that state what a "normal"
piano tuning is.  I doubt if there are anywhere else either.  The HT's have
been practiced here long enough that they are known and talked about and
sometimes specifically requested.  It is also well known in my community that
I do NOT tune ET.  Therefore, there are some customers who do NOT call me
because of that.  

I still have 25-30 piano tunings/sevices to do a week so I can afford to be
exclusive about what kind of work I will accept.  I am not the only technician
here who tunes exclusively HT's.  

In a message dated 98-01-25 20:18:31 EST, Ralph Martin writes:

<< If what you say is true (that ET is "dying out") then we are going to be
 forced back into writing and performing music with very simple chord
 structures. I simply can't see that happening
  >>
<< I offer an historical tuning to every teacher of classical music
 that I service. Thus far they all seem aware of the other tunings but
 refuse them in favour of ET anyway.
  >>
With all due respect to Ralph, all kinds of music from classical to
contemporary can and are played on HT's here in Madison.  If you tune into
Public Radio International (the AM band counterpart of National Public Radio)
on Saturday mornings from 10 am to 12 pm CST, you can hear a live broadcast
from Madison in which the piano is tuned in an HT.  The show is called "What
d'ya know?".  Yes, the pianist is aware of the kind of tuning it is and
prefers it.  HT's on this program have been in use for many years and so might
be considered the "norm".   The music played is contempoary jazz and the fact
that this music has much complex harmony involving virtually all possible
tonalities demonstrates that ET is not required (and in my opinion, not
desirable) when playing this or virtually any other kind of music.

Again, with all due respect to Ralph, I wonder how the two choices that he
offers are being presented?  "Normal" vs. "abnormal".  "Modern vs. archaic?".
"Mean" tones vs. "nice, smooth ones"?

I could say for example, "I'll give you a choice in how you'd like your piano
tuned:
 
Option A:   A nice, well-tempered tuning.  It is the way all of the European
composers tuned from the time of Bach through the Victorian era.  Each key you
play in will have a distinct character.  At the top of the cycle of 5ths, you
will hear smooth, gentle, quiet harmony.  In the remote keys, you'll hear
beautiful vibrant, singing tones, enhanced leading tones.  When you play
modern music such as jazz, you'll hear crisp clear harmonies.

Option B:  A method forced upon the general population in the early 20th
Century by people who weren't even musicians.  There were people who were
trying to define music "scientifically" who prescribed a certain irrational
frequency for each note of the scale.  Later, a machine called the "Strobe
Tuner" was invented to help tuners get these frequencies exactly because it
was so difficult for them to do by ear.  It became common for tuners to buy
these "Strobe Tuners" because tuning in this new "scientific" way was thought
to be somehow better than the natural way that the ear hears so easily.  If I
tune your piano this way, none of the harmony you hear from your traditional
and classical music will sound the way the composer intended.  Every chord you
play will be slightly "sour" and unfocused sounding.  There will be no
distinction between any of the keys.  They will all have that same,
undesirable sound.  There won't be any reason to modulate from one key to the
next because they have all been homogenized into one slightly "sour" but
supposedly "scientific" arrangement.  The smooth, quiet harmony you expect to
hear in the top of the cycle of 5ths will have a "busy", nervous sound to it,
quite inappropriate, I'd say.  That beautiful "singing" tone you want to hear
when you play Chopin will be flattened and dulled over.  Your leading tones
won't lead so well either.

So which would you prefer, Ma'am, option A or B?  Bye the way, have you ever
heard a piano that someone tuned with a Strobe Tuner?"

I find Micheal's observation very interesting.  He finds it remarkable how
close some technicians come to what is being purported as "normal".  On a
daily basis, it seems  inponderable how many technicians there might be who
are not fulfilling contracts by Jim's standards.

Of course, I don't offer "Option A or B" to my customers.  I do talk about the
nature of tuning and temperament with them when I feel it is appropriate to do
so.  This idea that somehow ET has become "normal" has caused most
practitioners of HT's to be wary of how much information it is prudent to
disclose when it has not been solicited.  Although I am known as an HT
practitioner, I am better known as a technician who makes pianos sound and
play very well.  What the customers recognize is how good the music sounds,
how well and long the piano stays in tune and how well it responds because of
my attention to other aspects of preparation other than tuning.  In my view,
the difference I make with an HT is a proportinately very small part of the
overall distinction I make for my self by offering a complete,  thorough  and
competent piano service.

When the customer wants to talk and have things explained, I am glad to do so.
Otherwise, given the very hostile climate that the ET="normal" crowd has
created, I prefer to combine two popular slogans as my motto whether it is in
regard to tuning, voicing, regulation or any other service I might provide:

"Don't ask, don't tell, just do it."

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin