Hist. Temp

Billbrpt Billbrpt@aol.com
Thu, 29 Jan 1998 00:53:15 EST


In a message dated 98-01-28 22:13:16 EST, you write:

<<  I have had NO ONE ask me, or question me
 about my ability to tune any other temperament other than the norm.  Norm
 means equal temperament.  Since everyone I have been working for gets my
 brand of ET I call that the norm.  Maybe I travel in different circles than
 some of you and that is the reason.  I don't know, but I suspect that my
 experience is like most of yours unless you are connected with early music
 types or university type people.  My world is the real world to me and
 although I am intrigued to try forms of historical tuning the only way it
 looks like that would happen is on my own personal piano.
 Most clients would like to play their pianos with other instruments or
 along with recordings and I see ET as the vehicle to allow them to do that.
 James Grebe >>

Your statement implies that what you do may actually not be perfectly equal.
No one usually ever asks me to do anything other than "tune" the piano either.
There are increasingly some exceptions however because people are becoming
more enlightened, at least around here.

Your statement also implies that you believe that if your tuning were anything
at all other than a perfect ET, that it could not be used with other
instruments.  This is a common misconception that often goes along with the
belief that the piano could only be played in certain keys.

Consider this, with all due respect to you:  Your temperament never has been
entirely equal nor consistent yet it serves the purpose it is intended to
serve and you earn a good living doing what you do.  You might be able to make
your pianos sound even better than they ever have if you had a little more
understanding about all of this.  Stay tuned.

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin


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