What is "Key Color?"

[Billbrpt@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 9/15/99 11:11:41 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
richardb@c2i.net (Richard Brekne) writes:

<<  Thing
 was he wanted the "color" of his ET tuning to be slow and rolling as 
compared to
 the tension in an stretched tuning. He was happy with slightly narrow 2:1 
octaves
 from around F5 up over. It was a bit difficult to get the higher double 
octaves
 to work out ok, and octaves and a 5th were a problem, but in the end a nice
 enough balance was acheived. He then demonstrated what he liked about the 
real
 slow thirds. It was kinda like he used the timeing of the beat rate as part 
of
 his expression. Dont really know how else to explain this. It was a unique 
tuning
 experience to be sure. >>

A couple of very important points here:  Those who decide to super stretch 
out the octaves so that the 5th can be pure or nearly so must remember that 
there is a consequence for doing so.  Both the 3rds and the 4ths will beat 
faster as a result.  The ET with pure 5ths can be a good and appropriate 
choice for a Steinway Concert Grand used in a piano concerto, for example, 
but it may not be the right approach for a regular, in home tuning.

The piano technician also has to remember that the nice, clean sound of a 
pure 5th is only enjoyed by the person who is doing the tuning and at that 
moment only.  Playing a 5th on the piano is not playing music.  A tempered 
5th, in a real musical context is not usually found to be objectionable at 
all.  The same can be true of octaves.  While tuning a 2:1 octave may produce 
a "cleaner" or "purer" sound than another type, in a true musical context, an 
octave which has a slight beat may be more musically appropriate, depending 
on the context and where that octave is on the piano.

When a pianist who is sensitive plays a piano tuned in an HT, it is a usual 
and expected practice that the vibrato-like sound of the beating intervals 
will influence both tempo and dynamics.  This enriches the entire musical 
experience.  I have heard many people say however that some people have 
learned to ignore the sound the piano produces and play in spite of it.  
Certainly, if the piano is out of tune, this might be done.  But also, if the 
temperament is not appropriate for the music to be played, it could happen 
then too.  Others have also said that they would not want the way the piano 
is tuned to have any influence whatsoever over the way they play.

<<>  There is not just one ET. There are many different theoretical tunings
>  based on equal interval divisions, such as 12 tone to the octave ET and
>  seven tone to the just fifth ET, not to mention 19 tone to the octave ET
>  and other non-twelve-tone ET tunings.

Holding to 12 tone, perhaps this is, to some degree, a matter of sematics  
??>>

Well, Kent is right, of course.  Any Meantone temperament could be called ET 
because each of the 5ths is tempered exactly the same, equally.  The 1/3 
Syntonic Meantone that you would tune on the piano simply chooses 12 of the 
19 equally tempered notes.  However, the inequality of this temperament as it 
would be expressed on a piano is stupefying to say the least.

To say that you can still have ET with differing amounts of stretch is true 
but it is also true of virtually any HT.  Stretching or not stretching only 
creates a slight difference in the sound from the temperament. When you 
create a temperament with different sizes of 3rds and 5ths that are in line 
with the cycle of 5ths, you are causing the real tonal distinctions that were 
known in the past but are not very well understood today.

Bill Bremmer RPT