---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment > Charles writes: > > << Anyway, I'm curious if anyone has a list of favorite piano pieces to play > for various temperaments. I'm sure Ed Foote must have a repertoir that he > would use for demonstrating temperaments. >> > > Greetings, > There are any number of pieces that demonstrate one or another aspect of > temperament. Just as George Gershwin's music can demo exactly why ET > sounds > so good, (snip) ARRRGGH!!! While I'd not quarrel at all with the rest of what Ed says, I do with this. Gershwin's music was just as *tonal* as all the music of previous centuries. Yes, Braide White taught ET in the early 20th Century but I see little evidence that many could really tune it and lots of evidence that tonal tuning continued well into the 20th Century, certainly during Gershwin's lifetime. No, a Kirnberger, Werkmeister of even a Thomas Young won't sound right for Gershwin to most people but there are still many alternatives among the Victorian and Quasi Equal styles which will "demo" as Ed puts it why *they* sound so great. I have yet to find any music that is worthwhile which *requires* ET. Congratulations, Charles on your find. May I suggest instead of plowing right into one temperament or the other, first browse through some of the many anecdotal stories? You'll be fascinated by the opinions that were a part of the past and which are so analogous to the ones expressed today. As I say in my website, "heads have rolled" over the issue of tuning since the time of the ancient Greeks. Then, I'd suggest learning the Thomas Young #1 first. Then take a look at section 73 where it tells you how to use your own taste to alter a temperament to your satisfaction. Rather than using your own personal taste, however, listen to the piano and use your own *experience* to tell you how far you can go and still make the piano acceptable for the circumstances. Please do follow the suggestions made by others for music to try but really the way to choose is obvious: after tuning the Thomas Young for starters, get music from the classical to early Romantic periods, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, etc., and also some Bach such as the Well-Tempered Clavier music. HT's (as they are usually discussed here) all follow one principle: an alignment with the Cycle of 5ths. Look through literature for various key signatures. You'll find that music in the simple keys with no or few sharps or flats will sound purer and more pleasing than it does in ET. Music in the remote keys with many sharps or flats will sound brighter, more energetic and vibrant. Music in minor keys will also have stronger character. Modulations will stand out, the new key will be much more of an obvious change. Although some people do use a temperament as old as Young's for modern music, conventional wisdom is that Romantic era music and all 20th Century music is too harmonically complex for that degree of difference between the different keys. The remote keys will simply sound too harsh. This is the usual reasoning why ET ends up being the ultimate answer and default choice. The older HT's may make early music sound better but they make more modern music sound out of tune. Jorgensen in the "Big Red Book" however, brings back the 19th Century temperament styles which are close to ET but still retain the "colors" known in the past. Remember that you are tuning a modern piano which did not exist when most of the HT's you may study did. It is a Victorian age instrument for which a Victorian style tuning can satisfy *all* types of music to be played at least as well as ET does. You may ultimately find that the slight deviations from ET of a Victorian style temperament are as much as you would ever want to make. It will still enhance music appropriately from any previous era. Really getting a good mix will take patience, experience and understanding. Being able to do one of the Broadwood factory Victorian style temperaments by ear as a place to start would be very difficult to get correctly. This is why there is the strong suggestion that an ETD be used for this but without learning first by ear what HT's are all about, you haven't built a foundation for yourself. I believe this is why not many people who try to read my instructions for the EBVT are successful. To me, it is easy and very basic but that is because I understood and memorized many HT's before I tried to create my own. Good reading and good luck. Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin <A HREF="http://www.billbremmer.com/">Click here: -=w w w . b i l l b r e m m e r . c o m =-</A> ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/ec/b7/fb/6b/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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