Equal Temperament, history of, judgement of

[A440A@AOL.COM]

Ric posts:
> Braid White, both in "Tuning and Allied Arts"
  In "Theory
>and Practice....  he states, "If we could secure an absolute
>standardization of pitch { ie A440 and not A442}  it would be possible
>to
>construct tables that would show the exact number of beats that ought to
>occur between ann the equally tempered sounds within the whole compass."
>(p126).  
>    I don't now how far back the editions carry
>the beat tables, but  with beat tables there is no more accurate way to
>tune ET unless you want to argue that a tuning machine is better.

Hmm,  I suppose this is based on the idea that all pianos have the same beat 
rates when tuned in ET?  My experience doesn't jibe with that, whether aural 
or machine.  If beat tables,(sounds like a Big Sur cafe during the '50's), 
would accurately describe a tuning, it would be a simple matter to construct 
a machine that sensed beats. However, I don't think this would do a very good 
job either, since a really accurate ET requires some of the beats to wander 
from theoretically perfect.  Could a machine make the choice of what to skew 
as you pass over the break in  a console?  
Regards, 
Ed Foote