Equal Temperament, Oh really, what else is news?

[Billbrpt@AOL.COM]

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In a message dated 2/21/02 9:15:55 PM Central Standard Time, 
piano@charlesneuman.net (Charles Neuman) writes:


> 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.

You're quite right, Charles.  When there is only *one* temperament, that one 
way becomes whatever version or interpretation the individual is capable of 
offering.  The habitual patterns used historically greatly influenced the 
outcome of the temperament just as do those used today.  If there were only a 
few small, random errors, there would be little effect on ET.  The cumulative 
effect however, of small but sequential errors can render any temperament 
which was intended to be equal into a Pandora's Box of differences of 
substantial musical consequence, yet may still go unrecogzized or even worse, 
ignored and dismissed as unimportant.

There is a clear division among the HT's between *circulating* and 
*noncirculating* temperaments.  The latter were the strong Meantones where 
part of the scale was very dissonant and mostly considered unusable (although 
was used for effect on a limited basis).  In the early years, any temperament 
usable in all 24 major and minor keys was considered to be "equal".  Therein 
lies the source of confusion.

Braide White spelled out ET in the early 20th Century and deliberately left 
out any reference to any other possibility except the obviously unusable (in 
his mind), Meantone.  He could not provide the precise aural systems we know 
today so any attempt whatsoever was and still is considered to be ET.  I 
don't accept that definition of ET.  

I know about all this because I went through it myself believing at first 
only in *The* temperament, then learning that it is "Equal" Temperament, then 
learning to make it "more" equal, then hearing my first HT's as presented by 
Owen Jorgensen and thinking they all sounded ridiculous and thus dismissing 
the idea entirely, then believing in ET with pure 5ths, then finally being 
persuaded by music itself, not what someone claimed through research that 
HT's and other Cycle of 5ths based temperaments have merit.

I have also become aware that the entire notion of ET has been force fed to 
the public and that any other alternative has largely been denied and 
ridiculed.  Some may feel that what I have to say means that I think no one 
really ever gets it *right* but that is not, never has been nor will ever be 
what I think nor the point I have to make.  All methods and sets of beliefs 
eventually become obsolete and evolve.   Standards in general are simply much 
higher today than they were 25, 50 or 100 years ago.

The point is that everyone now has more information, better tools and 
techniques than we did even 25 years ago.  Maintaining that tuning has 
already reached its epitome or evolutionary end is to say that there could 
never be anything better.  That notion I will reject until the end of my 
life.  There is *always* a better way and *always* room for improvement.

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin
 <A HREF="http://www.billbremmer.com/">Click here: -=w w w . b i l l b r e m m e r . c o m =-</A> 

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