Jerry, The way I set an ET temperament is to tune A3 to A4, then tune F3 to A3. (I think that we ought to be able to get very close to 7 bps every time.) Then I tune F4 to F3. Usually, I set this octave around 6:3--the F3-A4 10th beats a little faster than the F3-A3 3rd. Once the octave is set, then I work with the C#4, trying to evenly "split" the two 3rds so that they are in their proper ratio. Bob Davis' suggestion of playing the thirds in succesion again and again is a good one, and is what I was taught. It does take practice, and if you do the tapping method several times to set your 4:5 ratio, you will soon get the feel for what you are wanting. I have also tuned A#3 and D4 to help in determining the right A3-AC#4 beat rate. If you tune A#3 to F3 so that it is approx 0.7 bps and D4 to A3 about 1 bps, you will have the third immediately above the A3-C#4 third. This may help keep your A3-C#4 third in line because you can then easily tell if it is slower than the A#3-D4 third. Your F3-D4 sixth should beat slightly faster than F3-A3, and C#3-A#3 should beat slightly faster than C#3-F3. (This is one of the checks for testing 4ths, BTW.) I usually can tell if my C#4 is bad when I tune F#3 to it, then tune A#3. If the C#4 is too sharp, and you tune F#3-C#4 to three beats per five seconds, then your F#3-A#3 third will beat too fast. Bump the C#4 down a little bit, and check your contiguous 3rds again. I have to be careful about stretching the F3-F4 octave a little too much, which then makes my A3-C#4 third too wide. I think if you can nail the F3-A3 at 7 bps, and tune a good F3-F4 octave, everything else eventually falls into place. Ha-ha, not without work, though. :-) The more you do, the easier it gets. Maybe this will help some. Good luck! John Formsma Blue Mountain, MS -----Original Message----- From: owner-pianotech@ptg.org [mailto:owner-pianotech@ptg.org]On Behalf Of Jerry Hunt Sent: Thursday, December 16, 1999 9:07 AM To: pianotech@ptg.org Subject: Temperament Setting Question I understand and appreciate the extent to which setting the contiguous thirds F-A, A-C#, C#-F & F-A in a 4:5 ration sets the foundation of a good temperament (of the ET variety). Most of the bearing plans I've seen start with something like "set F3 to A3 to beat about 7bps, set C#4 to A3 to beat about 9bps, tune F4, test that the contiguous 3rds have a 4:5 ratio..." My question is this, having tuned the F's and the C# and noting that the ratios aren't working out quite right, how do I determine if the problem is the F's or the C#? Many thanks for your help. Jerry Hunt Associate Member PTG (shooting for RPT in 2000) Dallas, TX __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place. Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com
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