WT on piano and guitar

[Joe & Penny Goss]

Bill,
 thanks for the info. and the positive post. The silence is so nice O:)
Joe

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> From: Billbrpt@aol.com
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: WT on piano and guitar
> Date: Friday, June 05, 1998 4:59 AM
> 
> Dear List,
> 
> Regarding the raging conflagration over tuning a guitar in an alternative
>  temperament, I again demonstrated the 1/6 ditonic comma WT for guitar
figures
>  I published on the List yesterday at a customer's home.
> 
> Upon entering the room, I noticed a high quality guitar case in the
corner.  I
>  asked if the customer also played guitar.  The answer was yes.  I
proposed
>  showing him how to also tune the guitar in a WT similar to what he
enjoys so
>  much on his piano.  He was interested and said he did not know such a
thing
>  could be done.
> 
> After my first rough pass on the piano,  I sat him down and dialed up the
>  notes and the figures on my SAT.  I let him tune the guitar himself. 
When we
>  were finished, I said, "Strum a nice G chord".  He did so and his face
>  expressed delight and surprise at the same time, his eyes opened widely.
>  "Wow", he exclaimed, "Does that ever sound GOOD!"  I said, "Now while I
finish
>  tuning your piano, would you go off somewhere out of earshot of my piano
>  tuning and play the guitar for a while, anything and everything you
know, try
>  out all possibilities."
> 
> When finished with the piano, I asked him how he liked it and the
responses
>  flowed for several minutes about the beautiful vibratos and the "warm"
sound
>  (as he described it) that the guitar had. He said it "even feels
different".
>  I said that is because of the Equal Beating vibrato that it now has. 
Since
>  the harmony is so organized,  the vibrating pulses from the guitar feel
>  differently than the perhaps disorganized energy there was before. 
> 
> We also tried some of the unison and octave combinations that concerned
Tim.
>  I have to say here and now that I stick to my position that the impurity
of
>  these is rather trivial and completely normal sounding for guitar
intonation.
>  They are not pure in ET either and these very slight adjustments to
guitar's
>  tuning do not significantly change the ability to play these intervals
with
>  acceptable musicianship.  Before looking at what is on a page and
proclaiming
>  "it wouldn't work", one should at least prove that it won't first before
>  ridiculing the idea before the entire profession.  One could dothe same
>  looking at a tuning program and emphatically exclaim, "Why there is a
10¢
>  descrepency between the notes in your 6th and 7th octaves!   IT WOULDN'T
>  WORK!!!" Try it first, then make your assessment, please.
> 
> This experience is very much like what many people have with their piano.
 The
>  customer told me he couldn't wait until his roomate got home so that he
could
>  show this to him, since he was also a guitar player and played even more
than
>  my customer. I gave them my E-mail address and asked for the roommate to
>  report his findings to me.
> 
> As I walked out tomy car, I heard the strains of the 1st Prelude from
Bach's
>  Well-Tempered Clavier Music being played as I have yet to hear it in a
>  commercially available recording:  the proper way, the right way, and
yes, my
>  way, in a true Well-Tempered Tuning.
> 
> As for Keith's assesment that the guitar sounded like the kind of vibrato
he
>  heard in a recording of pop music from the early 70's, these kinds of
effects
>  are sometimes very appealing to many people.  Consider that Jimi Hendrix
>  turned the volume all the way up on his little amplifier of the 1960's
and
>  liked that distorted sound he got.  Thus the desire for that kind of
sound was
>  created and a whole new device, the "fuzz box" was invented.  Back in
those
>  days, there wasn't a pop band that did not have one.  I had one for my
bass as
>  well.
> 
> Although Keith made it clear that it was his opinion, the very
condescending
>  tone that his remarks had were clearly intended, in my opinion, to
ridcule the
>  idea that the guitar could, or should, be tuned in any way other than
what he
>  already knew how do do and always has done.  I have experienced the very
same
>  attitude regarding the tuning of pianos by many on and off the List.  It
is
>  the customers and artist's reaction that always give me positive
feedback, so
>  the resistance of the tuning profession only makes me keep coming back
with
>  more, again and again.
> 
> I'm off this morning to Louisiana to hear some Cajun Music with its
unique
>  language and Pythagorean intonation.  I'll be back Tuesday.  The guitar
is
>  easier to "fool around with"  than a piano is. I'd like to hear more
people's
>  opinion of alternative tunings for it, specifically the two WT's that I
>  identified.
> 
> Bill Bremmer RPT
> Madison, Wisconsin.
>  
>