Temperament, A pianist responds

[Richard Moody]

----- Original Message -----
From: <Tvak@AOL.COM>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2001 7:19 AM
Subject: Re: Temperament, A pianist responds


|
| In a message dated 12/13/01 5:12:26 AM, A440A@AOL.COM writes:
|
| <<the heavyweights of academia don't want to be told that they have spent
| their careers in ignorance of some fundamental aspect of the music that
they
| profess to have mastered. They will resist, no matter what. >>
|
| Anyone care to respond (...resist) to the anecdote related above?
|
| Tom Sivak

Yes------it shows the importance of not writing anything that seems to
stand alone out of context.  Or the fundamental lesson in "Historiography
301"  "avoid sweeping generalizations."  By itself it is an insult to the
intelligence and integrity of academia.
But the implications run deeper on second thought.   If professors are
"ignorant of some fundamental aspect of music"  what about the rest of us
poor souls?   Apparently we have to be taught to hear and then appreciate
the difference temperament makes.  And woe to us who profess we don't hear
new and wondorus tonalities and heaven  help some brave few who dare to
state "I think it makes the music sound worse".
    I have tuned HT's and played on them as much  as my meager ability
allows.  I have heard recordings.   I have heard the presentation at the
national convention.  There on a modern player piano,(a good test I think)
I could hear a difference but I wondered if I liked it.   I would like to
learn the piece though,  something from WTC in E minor?
    There will be people who may honestly come to the conclusion that
listening to HT's on modern pianos is much ado about nothing.   That does
not mean they or I am  "resisting no matter what".  On the contrary, the
subject of HT's is very interesting to me as a tuner and historical
researcher.  I see them as part of the long winding road to ET.   To say
that ET is the culmination of the historic enveavor of tuning will be
decried as blasphamy I suppose from the devotees of the anything but ET
cult.  But it will not do much good to trade insults, (unless there is some
humor in it).
    The bottom line is open mindedness.  I have tuned them, played them,
listened to them and come out with a greater appreciation for ET than
before.  Would I have a greater appreciation for ET against HT in a blind
test? Could I even tell the difference?  I am curious to find out.  And of
course I would be more than willing to tune the ET piano.   Now that would
be interesting, listening to two pianos in a blind test, one of which you
tuned.  ---ric