Equal Temperament, Oh really, what else is news?

[David Love]

I'm reluctant to volunteer his name as I wouldn't subject anyone to the kind
of tirades that seem to accompany this discussion.  I don't know if he reads
the list.  If he does, then perhaps he will contribute his information.  I
don't believe that this information from, apparently, source material has
any confusion about the intent to tune ET.  I wish I knew more of the
details to give you something.  Apparently this stands somewhat counter to
the information that Jorgensen provides.  I have read Jorgensen's book and
though I have great respect for his scholarship, sometimes opinions are
represented as fact-- the opening paragraph in the preface most notably.

My purpose in bringing this up, by the way, was not to attack WT or push ET,
it was simply to offer information that might shed more light on what could
be an interesting discussion but tends to get rather boorish.  Mr. Bremmer,
blindly confident in his opinions, has no idea what my position is in this.
Though I personally prefer ET, I have introduced several of my customers to
the idea of WT (unsolicited I might add), and some have come to enjoy it,
some have not.  I have no vested interest or agenda in this matter.  I view
my job as a professional to remain objective, informed and informative to my
customers.  Most are capable of making their own choices and I take the time
to explain the intricacies when called upon, and sometimes when not.

I am as interested as anyone in the history of tuning and its development,
the aesthetic merits of different kinds of tuning, but mostly I am concerned
with keeping my customers satisfied whether it has to do with tuning,
voicing, touchweight, or the color of the finish.  I learned a long time ago
to keep my ego out of it and listen to what they want rather than railing
against imagined conspirators.  And anyway, I already have my answer:  it
was the guys on the grassy knoll.


David Love

----- Original Message -----
From: "Charles Neuman" <piano@charlesneuman.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: February 21, 2002 6:23 PM
Subject: Re: Equal Temperament, Oh really, what else is news?


> If there's evidence that ET was practiced in the 18th century, I'd like to
> hear it. Has anyone tried to contact Stuart Isacoff? I'd be interested in
> what the "other side" has to say. Jorgensen spells out his position pretty
> clearly. And popular culture just takes it for granted that ET has been
> around for more than a century and that the difference between WT and ET
> is insignificant. But I'd like to hear from someone who has some more
> evidence on the subject.
>
> I suspect (but can't prove) that there's a problem with terminology
> (surprise surprise). When some people say "ET", they might mean any
> temperament where you can play in all keys. Or they might label any
> attempt an a equal type of temperament as ET. Jorgensen is strict: he says
> that people couldn't tune in ET before around 1900 even if they tried. And
> Bill Bremmer pretty much says the same thing about most people today (no
> offense intended, and correct me if I'm misreading it). But I wouldn't be
> surprised if there's evidence that showed that people attempted to tune in
> ET over a century ago and did it to the best of their abilities for their
> time period, even if it wouldn't pass the RPT exams. So they call it ET,
> but today we might not. That might be some of the source of the
> controversy.
>
> That's my 13.7 cents,
>
> Charles
>
>
>