reverse well explained (no graphs, only one number)

[Paul]

Bill
Thanks for the explanation. I've been following the threads on HT's and want
to learn a few. Explanations like yours and others that depart from the
numbers, clears the muddy waters for me a little.

Paul Chick
----- Original Message -----
From: <Billbrpt@AOL.COM>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2000 10:54 AM
Subject: Re: reverse well explained (no graphs, only one number)


> In a message dated 10/26/00 10:23:57 AM Central Daylight Time,
> drwoodwind@hotmail.com (Ron Koval)writes:
>
> << Ok, ladies and gents, let’s see if I can shed some light here…. >>
>
> THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!  Ron!
>
> I couldn't have done nearly as well at explaining this and apparently I
> haven't.  I do have to apologize to Conrad on this because I always
assumed
> he knew exactly what I meant by Reverse Well.  To me, it is a
> self-explanatory term, but I guess not to most people.
>
> I would only argue one point and that is that sometimes, some tuners do
tune
> a temperament that is wildly or blatently irregular and unequal.  Once, in
> Louisiana, I was asked to tune a Yamaha console for which the last tuner
(a
> highly respected RPT) had attempted the ET with pure 5ths.  Sadly, the
> attempt ended up being a really exaggerated RW.  If this tech had *known*
> about HT's and cycle of 5ths temperaments, I'm sure he would not have left
> the piano that way and would have retained the customer that I now have
had
> for several years.
>
> Here is an alternative way to listen to temperament.  Owen Jorgensen says
> that it is not a valid way to listen to a temperament but when he told me
> that once at a Convention, I responded, "You just wait and see if *they*
all
> don't do exactly what you think they shouldn't do!"  Today's tuners are
> trained to listen to 3rds chromatically to test for evenness.  So, the
first
> thing they do is listen to an HT that way and usually freak out at what
they
> hear.
>
> In my instructions for the EBVT, I include the following description of
the
> way 3rds will sound.  It will generally apply to most HT's.
>
> <<The following is the way the 3rds played chromatically will sound from
> F3-F4.  Just imagine all values inverted and you have Reverse Well.
>
> F3-A3: slow
> F#3-A#3: fast
> G3-B3: slow
> Ab3-C4: quite fast
> A3-C#4: moderate, about the same as ET
> Bb-D4: moderate
> B3-D#4: very fast
> C4-E4: slow, half the speed of ET
> C#4-F4: very fast>>
>
> So, to spell it out, when I listen to detect an RW, I expect and often do
> hear this:
>
> F3-A3: fast, the kind of sound you would associate with getting out
>            of bed on the wrong side, cutting yourself while shaving,
drinking
>            sour orange juice and cold coffee with rancid cream in it.
> F#3-A#3: slow and gentle, an antedote for the above.  Enough reason
>                to call in sick and go back to bed or go fishing and enjoy
the
>                beautiful day.
> G3-B3: fast  (see F3-A3)
> Ab3-C4: moderate, sometimes nearly pure
> A3-C#4: usually moderate but could be almost anything
> Bb-D4: usually pretty fast
> B3-D#4: the sweetest, most gentle beating you have ever heard, too bad
>              hardly anything is ever written in this key.
> C4-E4: the shrillest, fastest, most sour sound in the entire universe.
>            The kind of sound that would drive anyone with any sensitivity
>            to music right out of the room.  Most people just learn to
ignore
>            it and this is the reason why pianists learn not to listen and
why
>            most people claim that they don't know the difference whether a
>            piano is in tune or not.
> C#4-F4: the sweetest, most gentle beating you have ever heard,
>              sometimes pure, a good reason to "jump into" 5 flats or
>             to modulate up that 1/2 step to end the music in a more
>             harmonious key.  (Isn't "Body and Soul" in this key?)
>
> Believe it and FILE it!
>
> Bill Bremmer RPT
> Madison, Wisconsin
>