Ron asks:
>Nothing wrong with broadening horizons, but I also seem to remember reading
>reports from techs about somewhat less than enthusiastic reactions too.
>How about those who *have* experienced some of the alternative temperaments
>and don't particularly care for them, or don't notice at all? Are they to be
>pitied for their ignorance and unwillingness to change?
Greetings,
Not at all. If a person rejects something after experiencing it, then
that is as valid a value judgement as can be. I was directing my comments at
those that reject something without trying it. A tech that has tuned and
listened to a variety of temperaments, and settled on one has no need to
debate its merits. For those that are using several, the comparisons are
endless.
As I said before, becoming familiar with a second temperament will
alter the way you hear ET, whether you ever go near that other temperament
again. The creation of a perspective by familiarizing oneself with another
tuning is worth the effort in its own right, the ability to create new
enthusiasm in ones clientele can be viewed as an extra.
I fully believe the tech that says he has tuned and listened to music on
a Young, and it sounds out of tune to him. I cannot find a single logical
arguement to make against that, as it is a subjective perception, and those
are not really debatable.
>We are also playing modern music written by composers working in ET, but>
that doesn't apparently preclude playing these pieces in an alternativ>e
temperament so the logic isn't all that symmetrical is it?
No, not perfectly symetrical, but few modern composers in the Western
tradition are free from the long standing tradition of key association. It
is surprising how much musical sense the various levels of tempering seem to
make with 20th century music. However, I have heard a modern "classical"
piece in Db played on a Valotti and it was awful. On ET, it was a completely
different sound.
Anyhow, I think this particular thread is turning to lint, If anybody got
offended about me talking about pitying somebody, I am sorry, I think the
target got misidentified.
Regards, .
Ed Foote
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