Coleman vs Coleman Tuneoff

[Richard Moody]

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> From: Jim Coleman, Sr. <pianotoo@imap2.asu.edu>

> Subject: Re: Coleman vs Coleman Tuneoff
> Date: Tuesday, February 16, 1999 10:18 PM
>. After identifying
> the Well Tempered tuning, I played the Raindrop in Db and then in C
> to show why Chopin chose to write it in Db to take advantage of the
> popular style of tuning in his day. It really adds intensity to the
> macabre nature of the piece.
> 
> Jim Coleman, Sr.

Hi Jim, 
	I am wondering if Chopin wrote anything (as in a diary, or letters, or
essays) about choosing key sig. because of temperament. If indeed this was
the reason for the Raindrop Prelude being in Db that would imply he knew
of at least two or more temps, one then would be more ideal than the other
for a piece in Db. For me the $64 question is what was the other
temperament he couldn't use?
	I had this piece as a kid long before I knew I was to be a piano tuner. I
don't remember her (teacher) saying anything about it being in Db because
of the way he tuned his piano. There was a discussion about  the rain
drops going from Ab to G# and the significance of the key change, and was
it E or C# minor, but I can't remember any of that. 
 
	The $64,000 is why didn't the composers mention temperament as
influencing choice of key. There is not even second hand evidence of their
interest in temperament. For all the writing that scientists did on
temperament you would think they would have written about what the
composers decided on, or the composers  would have had some discussion
with the scientists about tuning and some mention of that would be extant.
 My belief is that if temperamnet was so important they did leave some
direct evidence, we just haven't uncovered it yet.  On the other hand lack
of evidence sooner or later has to be considered, at least by the
historian, that perhaps temperament was no big deal to them, that the
organ was the only instrumnet actually tuned according to theory, that the
pianos of their day were so primative and unstable the most haphazard
tuning would suffice, that they were simply waiting for something better
to come along. Temperament was simply another item on a long list of
advantages and disadvantages of keyboard playing and composing and
performing, and in those days did not rank high when sorted according to
priorities. 
	Its all hypothesis, in search of facts to support speculation,  and the
most salient fact seems to be there are too few verifiable facts in the
history of temperament and music.

Richard Moody