Was OnlyPure not (flame time?)

[A440A@aol.com]

Greetings, 
    I've been reading this thread and suddenly realized,  we don't have near 
enough kindling for a good flame, so, here goes:  The differences between any 
of the styles of ET are miniscule compared to the difference between any of 
them and even a mild WT.  Also,  I really object to using 'Pure' to describe 
tempered intervals.  Minimum beating is "purer" but NOT  "Pure".  Something is 
either contaminated or it is not.  

Ron writes: 
<< But music is more than just octaves and fifths.... you could complete the 
journey and move on to the thirds and sixths.  In equal temperament,<snip> 
for every beat of a major third, the minor third will be 
beating 1.7 times.  Now by using alternate temperaments, this can be 
adjusted to get a consonant 1.5, or 3/2 ratio.  That's a sound not to be 
missed.... >>

       Ah,  Ron is exactly right. Music is far more than the tuning, since 
the temperament is fixed and different music from different eras uses the 
intervals for different purposes.  There ain't no one perfect anything.   To the ear 
that is helplessly in love with the 13.7 cent third, everywhere, harmonic 
contrasts are simply 'wrong'. To those whose musical appreciation has come to 
recognise the complexity of harmony in WT,  ET is bland and boring. Vive la dif! 
    What is undeniable is that different degrees of consonance create 
differing emotional responses. This is scientifically demonstrated all the time.  The 
horns of a train are so dissonant that you can't help but have your attention 
rivetted by them.  The lullaby is always graced by maximum consonance.  The 
emotional empact of these differing stimuli is well known and easily 
demonstrated,  just have uninformed ears listen to a comparison and some very 
interesting  results begin to show themselves.  
    What I have found is that no matter how you tune ET, no matter what the 
stretch or alignment of the 12ths,etc.,  the great majority of listeners will 
prefer a mild well temperament if subjected to blind comparison.  This has 
happened repeatedly in Guild convention comparisons, in private studios I tune in, 
and numerous presentations by myself and others.  For some reason, ET just 
never comes out on top!  Recently, the head of a piano department played a piano 
I had just tuned in a WT, which I didn't advertise.  She felt it was so much 
more resonant and said that it sounded better than it ever had.  Her two 
companions, sitting in the audience said it was the clearest sounding piano in the 
school.  (Liszt, Brahms, and Ravel were her pieces).  This same teacher had 
previously told me that she much preferred ET!  
   From whence does the attraction for ET spring?  I opine that its 
attraction comes from us technicians. We just love something that is easy to measure, 
and we often are more comfortable with something that "everybody" accepts. 
However,   if we are committed to lifelong growth in any direction,  we must 
constantly ask ourselves is "Do we know what we like, or do we like what we know?" 
Regards,
 
Ed Foote RPT 
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html