aural - sounds nice?

Ron Koval drwoodwind@hotmail.com
Wed, 04 Oct 2000 18:21:32 GMT


wait a minute while I get my flamesuit zipped up....



Conrad, can I get a spare?




Ok. . .

I've been wondering since I began tuning (20 yrs or so) why some tunings 
sound better, is it that special something.... or not?  As we break the 1 
cent barrier, the .5 cent barrier, and the .1 cent barrier, do the tunings 
play better?  My gut level guess (ah I feel the heat rising) is that many 
people stumble out of equal temperament by little tiny bits, get those 
octaves and unisons nice, and that the pieces that they play at the end of 
their tuning "fit" the temperament that they've set on the instrument.

I'd like to really test some instruments (maybe next convention)and graph 
out the temperament that ended up on the instrument.  Many of the 
temperaments for everyday use only need offsets of 2 cents and less.  It 
doesn't take much to drift away from ET. I'd bet that most instruments tuned 
in an hour or so aren't as close to ET as the tuner intended.

Are you sure it's REALLY equal temperament that sounds so good?

Ron Koval
Chicagoland
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