OFF (*was: neurology)

[Susan Kline]

At 02:41 PM 4/25/2002 -0700, you wrote:
>intervals are tempered in such a way to make the
>other three strings sympathetically vibrate. This makes the instrument
>"ring" and have an "open" sound. I'm sure that at some point in your cello
>career someone told you to "check it with the open string?"

<grin>

I'm still reading the thread, since I got in late last night, but
I couldn't resist answering this --

My teacher had a somewhat different viewpoint. <big grin> When called for
bad intonation, a certain type of string student would start furiously
tuning the open strings. My teacher would say, "That's only four notes ..."

I was told to "check it with the open string" when I was 10. By the time
I was 20, I was able to play in tune when the strings were a little off,
with effort. By the time I was 25 I would play in tune when the strings
were a little off without effort.

This theory of open-string resonance dictating interval size -- sorry,
I don't see it this way. How about the key of B major, for instance?
"Susan, string players do not melodically temper intervallic movement."
And who may these string players be, pray? Students, perhaps? I certainly
have said that many string players do not temper anything, melodically
or otherwise -- but all of them? I beg leave to differ!

Bradley, do you really like playing skimpy little beatless major
thirds? And wide flabby beatless minor thirds? Really? In a dominant
chord, you like the leading tone way low, do you? So the thing doesn't
want to resolve, it just wants to SIT there?

Susan