Temperaments

[Billbrpt]

In a message dated 98-01-27 11:38:06 EST, you write:

<< Bill,   Would you have the numbers for Daniel's tunings?  At least the
 temperament octave,  for I understand that he tunes to the individual piano.
  >>

Daniel is a strictly aural tuner.  He does have remarkable ability, far beyond
the ordinary.

Our colleague in the Madison Chapter, Timothy Farley RPT often copies Daniel's
temperaments with his SAT.  I choose not to use Tim's readings however because
I do not agree with the way they are taken.  Tim insists that a HT must have
C4 read 0.0.  While this is rational from the point of view that C is the
tonal center of virtually all of the HT's that we use, from a point of
practicality it is not.   

I program all of my HT's with A3 (read on A5) at 0.0.  This shifts everything
as close as possible to theoretical ET, thereby making most of the milder HT's
compatible with other instruments which are tuned to Standard Pitch, fixed
pitch or otherwise.  Of course, you can always offset the program to adjust it
for pitch but to me, that complicates matters.  

Tim also reads the pitches with exactly the opposite approach that I do.  He
reads for the "prompt" sound.  I read for the "after" sound, the way I was
taught as an Examiner.  I can make all of my figures have a rational pattern
the way I do it.  Tim's just don't make sense to me.

Having said that, Tim is a great tuner also.  Aurally, there's never a problem
with what he does.  I'm sure that he would be willing to share some of what he
considers very good temperaments with you if you give him a call.  His shop
can be reached toll-free at 888-49 PIANO or 608-271-2626.

By the way, any good tuner ought to be creating a tuning which is individual
for each piano that is tuned, this should not be considered extraordinary, in
my opinion.

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin