Greetings, John writes: (with caffiene driven snips) << Situation : Piano tuned in a Young HT. The owner was finding an E major chord in a modern, slow C major piece just a bit 'strong' (theme to Schindler's List) Anyhow, thought it was time to give the Coleman 11 a try. Verdict: An excellent choice for somebody wanting some key colour but wanting to avoid 'problems' in pieces more suited to ET Nice shot! It sounds like you hit the target. Avoiding problems is both necessary and unavoidable when departing from the status quo, and Jim Coleman's temperaments have proven themselves to be valuable tools in this endeavor. >>IMO, there was certainly a trade-off as Bach sounded better in the Young. However as a compromise (Ed, I trust you would agree with me that finding the optimum compromise for the situation is what this issue is all about, ET being just one possible compromise) Agreed 100%. There is a certain parallel between the use of tonality and the use of mind altering drugs,(some would say there are few differences). The effect from psycho-active drugs is dependant on the "set" and the "setting". This refers to the person's mental "set" (frame of mind), and the "setting" (environment) in which they find themselves. The combination determines the effect. Same with dissonance, once ET is left, there are value judegments to be made by the tech, and imho these should primarily depend on the customer and the use. That John's customer was already well immersed in the tonal palette gives credibility to his taste when preferring the Coleman 11 to the Young. This musician is more sensitive than the majority, to be making discriminations this fine, ie. In the key of E, the Coleman 11 tempers the E-G# by only 16 cents while the Young requires it to be 18 cents. In the same key, the B's tonic third (B-D#) is tempered 17 cents in the Coleman, in the Young it is 19 cents. Small differences, but large enough so that they cross the customer's threshold. I suspect that this pianist regards John as more than just a tuner, but also as a musically aware technician that brings more than just turning pins to his work. That is the true utility of the temperaments to the modern technician, it allows us to become more valuable to the artists. The aesthetic value of the temperaments depends on the musicians and composers that use them. It is our job to know what to offer. We absolutely MUST be aware of the pianist's "set" and the music's "setting" before we start changing the familiar. >>the Coleman 11 combines beautifully the 'best of both worlds'. Exactly as you had described, the popular keys are more harmonious than ET (I originally wrote 'improved' but thought that might not be PC), and for practical purposes the rest are about the same as ET. I plan to make it a major part of the standard offering from now on.<< Great! One of the most valuable aspects of Jim's temperaments is that there are four of them that span the difference between ET and the Young. The mildest of them ( the #11) is, in practise, almost as universally applicable as ET. The progression to his #16 offers small, incremental steps. I begin my customers on the #11, and by the next tuning they are willing to try anything else I might have in mind. On successive tuning , I step them into stronger temperaments until we find a point where it begins to distract rather than strengthen their feelings about the musical sounds they are hearing. I then back up a step and find that they are happier with their piano than they have ever been. After building a clientele of high-end grand piano owners (it has been a 25 year task), I am not going to be careless with them, but risking rejection for progress with my temperament recommendations for the last 7 years has deepened their loyalty, raised my prices, and added a lot of beauty to my customers lives. This, in sum, has been well worth the effort required to learn about the temperaments. >> thanks to Jim Sr. for its development and making it available to others. I trust this post may inspire somebody else to give it a try. >> I join you in thanking Jim, he has created a beautiful set of tools, and thanks for the good news, may there be a churning, burning, all-enveloping revival of tonality down under. (:)}} Regards, Ed Foote RPT
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