ET temperament beat ratios

[Robin Hufford]

Dr. Coleman, and RicM,
     The commentary I offered about beat rates was intended to be
limited to the theoretical rates, absent the effects of inharmonicity,
perhaps, I should have been clearer on this point.  The effect of
inharmonicity which, I believe, must be analyzed in conjunction with the
demonstrated pitch curve or bias of the ear is a very complicated
subject and  one which I, intentionally, avoided  for the moment and
this  is the reason I did not enter the ongoing discussion on this same
subject.
      I am a believer in the perceptible difference of intervals tuned
more, or less, to harmonic values; that is, tempered to some degree or
the other and this arises from long experience both  as a musician and
as a tuner and, hence,  I do believe in what is referred to as key
color, although I think this is a poor term for the phenomenon.  It
seems to me a better term would be harmonic character or something in
this vein as we are referring to the actual degree of mistuning, that
is,  tempering or the lack of it,  of the intervals in a key, but, this
is, again, a very complicated, time-demanding subject which I will
forego commentary upon at the moment.
     I am interested, though, as I said earlier, in knowing if the
published rates from White are, indeed, so inaccurate as they appear to
have been.
Regards, Robin Hufford


 Richard Moody wrote:

> > I would tune it in HT and then play the Chopin number
> > in Db and then transpose it to C. In this case, there was even
> > more difference that could be heard by almost everyone.
> >
> > Jim Coleman, Sr.
>
> I never knew this until I started to learn piano tuning but I
> heard the Raindrop Prelude for at least 6 months in both keys.  I
> "hated" it, but my piano teacher picked it to play it at the
> annual recital.  She happened to live right around the corner and
> since cramming comes naturally to a 15 year old, many were the
> times I heard it 10 minutes later half a step higher.  But I NEVER
> noticed.   Hers was a grand, mine was an old upright tuned half a
> step low which of course I nor anyone else knew at the time.
>     But I have heard that particular piece is startling when
> played half step lower.  Of course you know me, it is not the
> "color of the key" its the peculiarity of the piece.  Play it  in
> D and if you like it a lot better I said so first.
> hmmmm do you think I "hated" it because it really does sound awful
> in C ? ?
> Try it now?   Forget it, the piano is tuned in Meantone, and the
> only other one around is a Kimball spinet.  Well there is my
> Yamaha PSR-340. Yippee I can download a .mid I bet and listen to
> it,    a heck of a lot easier than trying to play the darned
> thing.   Really---he could have used an editor on it.  I bet
> George Sand or her son wrote half of it.....
>
> ---ric
>     "he {Chopin} protested with all his might, and he was right,
> against the puerility of these imitations for the ear.  His genius
> was full of the mysterious harmonies of nature."     George Sand