Nice Chord...aural tuning

[Richard Brekne]

Richard Moody wrote:

> > Hi folks.. Dinking around the other day I noticed a nice sounding chord
> that
> > resulted from tuning completely "wrong"...grin. I had started my usual
> A3-A4
> > temperament and got as far as F# and this was really flat to begin with.
> So flat
> > that the A-F# 6th was beating at about 2 beats per second. Playing
> A-D-F#-A(4)
> > yeilded then a "D Major" that was really pretty to listen to indeed.
>
> You didn't say how the D--F# was beating, but what you are hearing is an
> aproximate pure 6th.  However it would be a "bastard" 6th as far as tuning
> theory goes because A--D  wouldn't be right according to 1/4 tone Meantone
> unless you also tuned A--D "completely wrong" according to ET...grin. (4
> cents sharp instead of 2 cents sharp)  But if you tune !/4 MT,  the "D
> Major" (triad) is really pretty to listen to.
>

Grin... Actually Richard, I did describe the D -- F# was beating, but only
indirectly so. D was set as usual within an ET temperament starting with A3. I
always tune the 5th above (E) and the 4th above (D) and the octave above (A4)
to start off my temperament. I do this to help me get satisfied with the A
octave as very close to a 4:2 type. It almost always varies just a tad due to
the pianos inharmonicity, but can be sorted it out very nicely by useing the D
instead of the F below A4 to check the 4:2 type and at the same time set the D
where I want it and find a good spot for the E within the resulting ocave.

So.... D is set as usual, the F# above A3 then was left untuned (quite flat
from ET) and was beating as I said at roughly 2bps with A3. This should tell
you rougly the beat rate of the D--F#,,,, grin and I will leave it too you to
figure it out.  All in all the whole chord was a very very nice sounding chord
indeed. I was left thinking how nice it would be to be able to tune a piano
thus without causing all kinds of havoc with other chords. And I cant help
thinking that tuning for music especially contrived to utilize such chords and
avoid the resulting unuseables would be very interesting indeed.

I didnt really understand floot of your tuning exercise.. you didnt put it into
any kind of perspective as to what I should be listening for.. was this to be
treated as an ET thing or did you have any particular beat rates in mind for
the various tuning intervals and tests you sketched out ?? Care to have another
go at that one ?

--
Richard Brekne
RPT, N.P.T.F.
Bergen, Norway