Unequal Temperaments

[Richard Brekne]

Have been following this thread with interest and decided to snip out a
couple comments from Richard Moodys last posting I liked very much. This
thread, as most, seems to have developed along serveral tangents, some of
them passionatly expounded upon. As this all relates to the use of ETD's it
has been stated by some that ETD's are a detrimant, by others that ETD's
are a benifit.....


Richard Moody wrote:
> And what is an informend opinion?  It is one thing for the tuner to set
> his machine and give a tuning. It is quite another to understand what the
> intervals are doing and how they relate in that  temperament.  

This is the real reality of the question of ETD's in this regard. An ETD in
itself is neither benificial or detrimental. It simply is there. How it is
used is paramount. If it is used in such a way as to lend it self to this
understanding then it is a benifit. If it is used in the opposite manner
(as in "let the machine do all the decisions for me") then it will be of
questionable benifit at best, and indeed probably detrimental towards
developing more then a mere supreficial feel for any and all temperaments.

ETD's can be used in both ways for any type of temperament, anyone who
thinks otherwise is ...well.... grin... wrong. 

 
> The intellectual understanding of temperaments is far and away
> "better" than actually playing or listening to them.  IMHO.  

---ric

An interesting point of view. I am not sure I would quite agree..beyond
pragmacticism at least. But certainly this understanding is no less
important then the experience of listening to them. The two are kinda
intertwined. The more you understand, intellectually, a thing, the greater
the potential gratification from intuitive experience with it.  

-- 
Richard Brekne
Associate PTG, N.P.T.F.
Bergen, Norway