historical tunings - in particular the Moore

[SUSAN P SWEARINGEN]

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I believe the Moore temperament is also known as the Victorian =
temperament but I could be wrong.  I just tuned this style on my own =
Yamaha U1 and I found it to be very rich and colorful (there, hows that =
for subjective?), especially in the upper tenor and treble.  It's a very =
mild deviation from Equal and would be a good candidate for use as a =
primary temperament when tuning for clients.

Corte Swearingen
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Billbrpt@AOL.COM=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2002 2:53 PM
  Subject: Re: historical tunings - in particular the Moore


  In a message dated 6/27/02 2:20:24 PM Central Daylight Time, =
cadunn@vt2000.com (Clair Dunn) writes:=20



    I very casually checked some of the numbers against the ET and found =

    very small differences.=20
    However, I did definitely hear a difference. I would like to know=20
    more about the Moore temperament specifically if anyone has=20
    information about it. I did read the info again on your site Bill (I =

    had read it before). Why is it called the Moore temperament and what =

    is the general consensus about the audible differences?=20
    What struck *my* ears was a brighter tenor/treble section. Noticably =

    "crisper" and cleaner -- I know these are terribly subjective words, =

    but it's the best I can do.=20
    Am I hearing right??=20

    So, I want to extend my thanks to Bill Bremmer and the rest of you=20
    folks for making me curious.=20
    I actually tuned a customer's piano with the Moore yesterday. They=20
    have two pianos--the daughter plays the fairly decent Lesage Console =

    and the husband plays the big old Ellington upright (1911). It was=20
    the Ellington I tuned with the Moore. (--after I talked to my=20
    customer about it. She deals in Victoriana and I thought she might=20
    be interested--she was. But she's not going to tell her husband, to=20
    see if he notices any differnce.) These are regular customers of=20
    mine and the piano is in good shape and holds a tune well.=20
    Anyway, thanks again
  .=20

  I very much appreciate your interest.  I'm quite busy at the moment =
and will be leaving for Chicago tomorrow for 3 days of performances =
downtown.  You hit on a number of issues.  I have never tried the Moore =
temperament but assume it is named after the person who designed it.  I =
never use the method which is admittedly the most popular, to apply =
"correction figures" to an ETD program.  I tune only by ear but often =
enter my tunings into my SAT as a custom program.=20

  I unfortunately cannot comment on the Moore temperament because I have =
never heard it but can tell by the numerical information that it is =
similar to what I do with the EBVT except that I have 4 pure 5ths unlike =
any other Victorian temperament.  It is possible that the Moore has some =
of the same Equal Beating effects as the EBVT but those are built into =
the EBVT by design and are specific, not accidental.=20

  You noticed that the differences between the Moore and ET are slight =
but that's where the magic and usefulness of it lie:  in the very slight =
difference.  Too much difference and it's sure to become unacceptable to =
some people.  On the other hand, not enough contrast renders a Victorian =
temperament inadequate for earlier music.  What the EBVT does that is =
different is to employ the Equal Beating effect to create the illusion =
of a much stronger temperament yet avoid any harshness.  This makes it =
useful for all types of music.=20

  When playing chromatic 3rds the way one would test for evenness in ET, =
the first impression one would get when playing the EBVT is a "sloppy" =
ET, much the same as the remark made by Don Mannino.  However, this is =
really not a valid way of listening to any HT or Cycle of 5ths based =
temperament.  I still take this into consideration though, because I =
know people will do that because it is generally their only frame of =
reference.  I try to keep my temperament within the bounds of what I =
know to be acceptable and tolerable to the contemporary ear.=20

  The real proof of whether it works is its net effect on the music.  =
Your customer is not likely to notice the difference without prompting.  =
But that is a good thing, not a bad one.  If there were to be a large =
enough effect to be clearly noticeable, it would inevitably end up being =
rejected.  Virtually no one ever picks up on the fact that a piano which =
I have tuned in my EBVT has a "sloppy" temperament or any other such =
negative comment, they only remark about how good the piano sounds and =
that's the way it should be.=20

  Many people have expressed similar comments to yours about how a =
Victorian temperament makes a piano sound "cleaner, crisper and =
clearer".  This is no illusion.  It is the desired outcome.=20

  Thanks again for your kind remarks.  Let us know of further good =
results but also of any negative repercussions, should there be any.=20

  Bill Bremmer RPT=20
  Madison, Wisconsin=20
  Click here: -=3Dw w w . b i l l b r e m m e r . c o m =3D-=20

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