Inharmonicity Judgments

[Carl Root]

Jim Coleman, Sr. wrote:
> 
> Hi Carl:
> 
> For many years I tuned using the Wm Braid White temperament. I finally
> caught on to the fact that in the middle of his sequence he used the
> contiguous M3rds to prove that he had not skewed the 4ths and 5ths in one
> direction or another. So, I decided that if this is the real test of a
> temperament, why not start there and still use the 4ths and 5ths as they
> are interconnected with the 3rds.

I went through a similar progression, except that I discovered 'Both
Ways from the Middle" - F, A, Bd, D . . . - before contiguous thirds. 
As you know, it's a great intermediate step as you convert from a
sequence based on fourths and fifths to one based on thirds.  It is also
the best way to start the second contiguous thirds series a half step up
from F, A, C# . . . ..    

> The next thing I learned is that even getting the 3rds to balance out was
> not sufficient, because it is possible to skew the contiguous 3rds within
> one octave so that they increased too fast. This is where I discovered the
> importance of extending beyond the octave to prove the correct rate of
> increase as you play the contiguous M3rds. This was the beginning of the
> Coleman A to A temperament. This became very helpful as I was soon to be
> tuning a lot of Acrosonics when I worked for the Baldwin Piano factory.
> 
> Later the Baldassin Sanderson approach became another great step ahead in
> letting the piano determine what the correct beat rates should be for
> any particular piano. This is spread over the A2-A4 double octave range.
> 
> The only addition to this has been the suggestion of Michael Kimbell and
> much later from Fred Tremper concerning an easier way to nail the note
> B3 which is in the middle of the F3-F4 octave. This procedure has been
> written up on this list before. For any who did not receive it, I can
> send it as regular email again even though it is in the archives.

If you've set your Fs, my guess is that they're suggesting contiguous
m3rds which would nail G# and D, as well as B.  (credit/blame to Erol
Floyd, RPT.)

Thanks for your response.

Carl