Jim writes: << Here's a dumb (maybe) question. Is a temperament "centered" on a key? For instance, below, is "A" the tone center since it is "0"? IOW, there are "smooth" and more "active" chords (my words) in any non ET. So, does one choose this tone center? Am I off base, and it doesn't make a difference? >> The tradition of well-temperament follows Werckmeister's instructions that the keys most often used should be given the greatest consonance, the lesser used keys given the most tempering. This means that the order of width in the tonic thirds goes from the key of C to the key of F#, with C being the smallest third, F# the largest. This is understandable since there is virtually no music written in F# before the late 1800's. It is also a difficult key to resolve back to "home", since everything is tempered less than F# and it is hard( and very rarely attempted in the classical piano literature), to resolve to a higher level of tempering. Changing the traditional order would certainly destroy the modulatory intentions of the classical composers. Regards, Ed Foote RPT http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html <BR><BR><BR>**************<BR>Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video on AOL Home.<BR> (http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15?ncid=aolhom00030000000001)</HTML>
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