Temperamental temperament octave

[cswearingen@daigger.com]

Jim,

I wouldn't worry about the exact bps values as the aim is never to tune a
particular interval to 1.26 bps.  It will vary from piano to piano.

Also, did you mention what type of piano you are tuning?  Are we talking a
little spinet or a much larger piano.  It is possible that some smaller
pianos are going to have large enough scaling problems where getting a
smooth progression of thirds and nice quiet 5ths is just not possible and
compromises will need to be made.

I don't see anything wrong with your checks as I glance through them but
one thing that might be helpful is to tune with your ETD using your normal
temperament sequence and then stopping after each note to perform your
aural test.  This will help train your ear to hear how the test is supposed
to sound.  For example, it may sound to you like one interval is beating
slightly faster than another interval but, as a new tuner, your ears can
trick you sometimes.  Using the ETD in this way and going through your
normal temperament sequence and using your aural checks will be good
training, almost like having a technician sitting next to you helping you
along.

Another thing I would suggest is that this temperament you are following is
heavy on tuning intervals with very slow beats.  Some ears are better at
hearing the slower moving beats but others respond better to faster beats.
Although there is absolutely nothing inherently wrong with this
temperament, you might also want to experiment with a temperament that
tunes using faster beating intervals (3rds and 6ths) as opposed to tuning
using 4ths and 5ths.

Just my own personal suggestions.

Corte Swearingen
Chicago




                                                                                                        
                      "Jim Morrison"                                                                    
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                      Sent by:                 Subject:  Temperamental temperament octave               
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                      11/12/2003 10:10                                                                  
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Jim,

If you are able to balance the pivotal thirds properly in step 5, then your
mistake is happening in steps 6-9.  What aural checks are you using in each
of these steps?

Corte Swearingen
Chicago

Jim,<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Corte; Here is the progression with the tests I am using
That’s right Mike, I had step 11 reversed. It is straightened out below.
I am using tunelab pocket in a dell axim to check my aural temperament.
Something I have added are the beats per minute (bpm).
I use bpm with my meteronome  as an aid to help compare the slower beating
4ths and 5ths.

One of my faults may be expecting to master aural tuning in a short time.
I noticed today that it was not always the E that was problematic sometimes
it was C# or G and G#.
Someone told me once that if piano tuning was easy, everyone could do
it.Thanks to everyone who replied. Have to go make some money tomorrow (not
tuning pianos) but hope to get back to my practicing on Friday.

1) A49 to fork          F33-fork = F33-A49
2) A37 from A49         F33-A37< F33-A49  3rd is about .5bps slower than 10
th

3)F33 from A37   7bps              F33-A37<F33-A49

4)F45 from F33                     C#29-F33< C#29-F45

5)C#41 from F45 ...  balancing pivotal thirds

6)D42 from A37 (4th)1bps wide (60 bpm)        F33-D42 6th is 1bps faster
than F33-A37 3rd

7)A#38 from F45 (5th).6bps narrow (36bpm)         A#38-D42 is slightly
faster than A37-C#41

8)F#46 from C#41 (4th) 1.26 bps wide (80bpm)A37-F#46(6th) is 1.26 beats
faster than A37-C#41(3rd)
D42-F#46 is faster than C#41-F46

9)C40 from F45 (4th)  approx 1-1/3 bps wide  (80bpm)     C40-A49 (6th) is
slower than F45-A49, its upper major 3rd
C40-A49 is about the same asD42-F#46(M3)

10)E44 from A49 (4th) 1.6bps wide(96bpm)   C40-E44 is slower than C#41-F45
and faster than A#38-D42
A37-E44(5th) .6bps narrow    C40-E44  is slower than C40-A49 (6th)     this
is where I encounter my problem?

11)G#48 from C#41(5th)less than 1bps narrow     compare E44-G#48 /
F45-A49(3rds)
 compare C#41-G#48 / D42-A49 (parallel 5ths)

12)B39 from F#46 (5th) .83bps narrow (50bpm)  B39-D42(minor 3rd)is faster
than D42-F#46(major 3rd)   B39-E44(4th) is approx 1.1bps

13)D#43 from A#38 (4th) A37-F#46=B39-D#43

14)G47 fromD42