what's with the new temperaments?(x post)

[A440A@aol.com]

<< R Moody asks back....

 Ed,,,,, If Emanuel Ax, ,, PLUS a professor at Vanderbilt can't

tell the difference between ET and what you tuned,  why  should we

(tuners) be concerned with tuning something other than ET?? >>

    Hmm,  I would phrase it another way, ie,  Why should we tuners be 
concerned with exactness of tuning ET, at all?   But that is to miss the 
exciting part, which is, 'what can the tuner do to improve the art'? 

 To a hummingbird that sees the infra-red spectrum, the world is a very 
differently colored place. 
    
      The pianists didn't "see" the difference because they were not looking 
for it!  I have seen this occur in numerous situations.  When I tell  
pianists that there are two different tunings on side by side pianos, and ask 
them to just tell me which sounds better, 99.9% of them have chosen the 
Broadwood.  However, if nothing is said, less than half will detect a 
difference.  What accounts for this? 
   I think it is because THEY ARE NOT LISTENING to the actual sound.  They 
are not sensitized to the effects.  They are hearing "elsewhere".   When the 
traditional order of ascending dissonance is in place, music composed in the 
WT era creates a natural "fit" and the lack of ET doesn't become a problem.  
However,  if you put a temperament on there with the "colors" in all the 
wrong places, they sure as the dickens sense something is amiss,(I found this 
out with the DeMorgan).  
    I blame this on 100 years of not having a choice, on a century spent 
without key color.  Today's pianists are unaware of the out of tuneness that 
makes ET so special.  They have become inured to the ever-present haze that 
all those identical thirds hide behind.  Once sensitized to the contrasts in 
a WT, it is amazing to them that they ever thought ET sounded good.  They 
often wonder, "How did I ever like that sound!" 
    I believe this ignorance in the piano world offers a golden opportunity 
to today's technicians that want to invest some time and effort.  It is an 
opportunity to deliver epiphanies to pianists.  It is an opportunity to 
increase the emotional value of the music and to increase the attraction in 
the piano, itself.  This can't be bad for our trade, can it?  With all the 
competition for attention in the musical world today, anything that can help 
the piano be attractive helps us,too.  Putting a Valotti or Young on a spinet 
might make the difference in a childs desire to pursue it. Might not, but it 
sure doesn't hurt.  
   The techniques required are relatively simple, and with more than a few 
years of trial and error, I believe I can offer a safe approach to 
introducing pianist to the world of temperaments.  It has never been my goal 
to "invent" new temperaments, nor  to prove anybody wrong in what they do, 
but rather, to offer a way of using the research to improve what we do.  I 
guess I would like to help tune the tuner's art.  Those that find solace and 
comfort in the status quo will not care for this.  
   Convincing tuners to change their methods has proven to be an incredibly 
difficult task, (which makes me REAL suspicious of those that would suggest 
the trade rapidly adopted ET in 1830!  Tuners don't make changes that fast 
today.  I don't think those of yore would be more progressive, especially in 
light of how long the traditions had been in place, how tonally dependant the 
music was at the time, and how slow communication might have been without TV, 
telephones, internet, or widespread published information. ) 
    I will be bringing the class "Temperaments for the 21st Century" back at 
the Dallas convention.  It is listed as for all levels of tech, and everybody 
is welcome to invest 90 minutes in giving  new perspectives a shot. 
Regards, 
 Ed Foote RPT 
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html