more on this temperament thing

Billbrpt@AOL.COM Billbrpt@AOL.COM
Thu, 18 Oct 2001 13:54:04 EDT


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In a message dated 10/18/01 12:28:26 PM Central Daylight Time, 
drwoodwind@hotmail.com (Ron Koval) writes:


> I hear from other tuners, that they would like to appreciate HT's, but the 
> dissonences just get in the way.  I'm not surprised, considering the choice 
> of temperaments listed; Young, Kirnberger III, and the Coleman XI are all 
> pretty strong choices!  There is an 'aquired' aspect to tuning in 
> temperaments, and it becomes easier to accept 'stronger' temperaments the 
> more they are heard.
> 

I read consistently good thinking from you on this subject, Ron.  
Congratulations!  I also liked what Tom S. had to say.  I'm tempted to write 
a long essay which few people might read but I don't have the time right now. 
 I've said it all before anyway.

I'm sure that some people expect me to rant and rave, saying, to paraphrase a 
couple of others, "The more H in the HT, the better" but I'm not going to do 
that and it doesn't reflect my views anyway.

The truth is that I am forced to listen and work with pianos tuned in ET all 
the time, whether I want to or not.  I appreciate a professionally tuned 
piano in ET and have no gripe against it.  Those technicians who insist upon 
ET however must realize that they are imposing *their* values and belief 
system on everyone else.  It's understandable, it's the way they were trained.

I went through that period myself, long ago.  I would not use Kirnberger, 
Werkmeister, Young or any of these most commonly known HT's for Jazz, 
Romantic, Pop or anything else, precisely for the reasons the others have 
stated.  Since I rarely tune a piano for one specific type of music for a 
single performance, I would almost never use any of these HT's.  I don't 
consider them appropriate for the modern piano, just as the people who have 
said that they do not and for the same reasons they do not.

What needs to be understood is that this "the *more* E in the T, the better" 
is a fallacy in itself.  Remember George Orwell who made fun of that concept? 
 Once it is not E, it is not E.  One temperament cannot be more E than the 
other.  I accept that when the T is really E, *some* people like it best.  
But many, if not most have expressed a liking for that *almost* E but not 
taking it as far as *MEAN* (as in gritting your teeth, shaking your head, 
leaving the room muttering how the world has gone NUTS) tone.

And thanks, Ron for saying that the same applies to octaves too.  What sounds 
pure and *good* to the technician may well sound dull and flat to the 
musician but not always.

My goal is clarity, definition and texture, together providing for a more 
musically pleasing and appropriate sound from the modern piano, not 
unacceptability.

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin

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