Greetings,
In making an analogy between tunings and fast food, Bill writes:
> These places are of course a dependable source for a good
>meal. But when you want something distinctive, <snip> you go to an
>individually owned and operated restaurant. <more snip>
> I hope everyone on the List will buy Ed Foote's CD.
Thank you for that unsolicited plug! It is always good to be a hit with
"hard listeners"
>It really is quite good. But if I had to summarize my personal feelings
about it >in just a few words, I'd say, "Too smooth! A little rougher next
time, please!"
<more snips>
>From what Ed has said here on the List and in the way he tuned the piano in
the
>recording, Ed is very consciously concerned about offending anyone with
>something they just might find to sound out-of-tune.
Actually, I accepted my target as offending about 25 percent, hopefully
elating 50 % of the listeners, and being totally oblivious to the rest.
I spent five years watching audiences reactions to these and other
temperaments, specifically noticing what affected their acceptance or
rejection. During this time I also have learned how fast I can take musicians
back in time without losing them.
Firing an early volley in the siege on monotemperamentalism, I wanted a
sound that was exciting, but not saturated in surprises as extreme changes in
tempering can be, (as in 1/5 comma or stronger). It also had to have
historical validity, if we are to expect getting what Beethoven was perhaps
sending. For this, I unapologetically follow and trust the data in Owen
Jorgensen's reseach.
I take it personally when a pianist prefers ET for Bach, but I have
learned to live with it. It is a matter of taste, thus fit for discussion only
when well into the brandy. I have a customer that has his $2,500,000 home
decorated in black and white. I would go nuts there, but he is loves it.
We chose the temperaments for their tonal balance. Listening to all the
pieces on a variety of temperaments, this is the sound that we found most
appealing. For a beginning, two temperaments are enough. These two, with the
sonatas we used, provided a balanced aspect to the whole.
The Young has a certain "crystalline" nature, to my ear, it almost
reminds me of a 32-ET with the color turned on. The Prinz is the heavy this
time around. It offers a full comma in its highest keys. This is, IMHO, the
right dosage for this project, at this time.
Bill again:
<snip>
> But this is only one of the virtually infinite possibilities. He could
have, for >example, used the same temperament but stretched his 6th & 7th
octaves quite a >
>bit more for a different sound.
If you are saying that the top two octaves sound flat to your ears, we have
defined our sense differences,(pardon the pun) because that amount of stretch
is exactly what I like. I have listened above and below, and the CD presents
what I consider to be "right" and I would love to get a vote from the techs at
large what they think, it would let me know where I am located in the overall
theme.
The tunings are straight Jorgensen alterations of the aural temperament I
stored in my SAT for this Steinway D. That original tuning was done five
years ago, and underwent approximately five successive refinement changes
before I had what I wanted in ET and then shipped the machine to Al Sanderson
for him to convert to a variety of temperaments defined by Owen's research. (
I did this with all sizes of the Steinway grands).
Others have commented that it sounded really brilliant up there, and yet
others thought it "soft" <wishing J.Coleman would go somewhere and listen to
the CD on a big stereo, and give a review from the "Fount of Perfect Fifths"
!!- Jim, those computer speakers are good for making beep sounds and alarm
chimes, but for my unisons and commas with Beethoven?? <sob>(:)}} )
Bill again:
>I know that there are other temperaments which can bring out far more color
than >that which was used.
Agreed, but that additional color disrupted what Enid and I both thought
was a refined balance.
>This is not really a criticism of Ed's choice as much as it is of the status
quo that >forces him to be so constrained.
I don't mind criticism in the least! I think it makes me a better
tech.
>The pianist might not have liked anything any stronger. Why? She simply has
>never experienced anything stronger. She might be shocked by it and
instantly
>demand, "Back to ET!". <
It was years ago when I first introduced Enid Katahn to HT with a
Werckmiester out of Sandersons little manual. On a Steinway D. She loved it,
and now has a more refined palette for tonal balance than I do. It affects
her play, so there is a synergistic effect that she is more aware of than I.
I was not constrained so much as I was balancing two strengths of
deviation from ET. The compositions were chosen for their keys,
chronological order, commercial appeal and personal favoritism, in that
order.
Bill again:
> Even though the tempering was so mild, there were still technicians on the
>List who thought they heard sounds which were "out-of-tune" to their ears.
>This is because they have trained themselves to think and respond to a very
>narrow band of tolerance.
Maybe, maybe not. Traditionally, a full comma was not considered "mild".
It is a question of taste, thus, we cannot say why. The heaviest places in the
recordings set my hair on end too. There are no places that do that now, but
there were many to start!
A very common response I am getting from customers is that by the third
listening, the message inherent in "key color" becomes stronger than their
conditioning and it is then that Beethoven really starts to become riveting.
I don't think I would achieve that effect if I made it more difficult for a
listener to play it the second time.
> I really get a
>distinct pleasure out of tuning a stronger temperament for a customer who
>knows the difference, understands it and asks for it by name.>>
Yes, those are really rewarding customers to have. I am digging for every
one of them I can develope.
Years ago, I sold habenero sauce on the side. After growing up in
Louisiana, and never seeing Tabasco get brown,(we grew up in a spicy
envirnoment!), I was amazed at how hot this habenero stuff was. Some could
love it, others died as soon as they realized what they had just bitten. One
day, I saw a guy put a huge smear of it on a hamburger, then announce that
"this stuff must be watered down, because it sure wasn't hot" .............
After two years of seeing people react to this sauce, I felt justified
in telling him that his heat sensitivity was not in the least normal. He got
miffed, but what other rationale explained the contradiction of our opinions
on the sauce?
There are musicians out there that have the same approach to dissonance.
Just can't get enough... Malcolm Bilsen was playing Mozart here on something
that sounded needlessly harsh to my ear, etc.
Reading Ed Tomlinson's post last week, asking that the temperament
discussion be stopped made me realize that I have seen a lot of miff on the
list. I don't miff over subjective differences, but the temperament
discussion will continue, as it has for over 2,500 years. It is important
that we not waste time on the hypothetical.
The supremecy of ET will have to be re-proven against new techology's
ability to render a taste of the past with amazing ease. These are great
times to be tuning in !!
The musical debate over the value of temperament is one that is as
delicate as it is long. Today, there are rarified senses making judgments on
old familiar music. There are many toes to step on in academia, (barely time
to stomp on them all). However one treads, the big steps are not found
between differing HT's; the big step is the one that is taken when first
leaving the familiar, (ET). It is that step that I think the HT technician
should address first.
It is my hope that more of you will join in the broadening of sonic
horizons made possible by combining the research done by Owen and the
programmable tuning machines of today. Having a good, clean 12TET in your
pocket is an invaluable asset in these modern times, but that is no reason to
lack a more complete inventory of harmony for the keyboard.
Regards to all,
Ed Foote
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC