HT vs ET : was Layman's terms please!

[RicB]

Actually... I had a strange experience recently...  I heard a 
Pythagorean tuning on a very small harpsichord type of instrument... the 
exact name escapes me for the moment... but it fit on your lap 
comfortably... rather looked sort of like a Zither with keys.... anyways 
I digress... the point was one played in all keys on this thing... with 
the 24 cent comma and all... and you really marked no dissonance at all 
... regardless of key.  14th century in origion.

I listened facsinated for about an hour as the fellow went through a 
whole series of pieces... and really could not hear anything I would 
call dissonance at all... Made me think that the whole journey towards 
ET might have to do with maintaining a lack of dissonance  with the 
developing richness of sound as newer instruments were developed.

Just another thought to think... of. :)

Cheers
RicB


    Well said.

    Another uncommonly straightforward and valuable resource, describing
    the
    musical and technical issues in layman's terms, is Ross Duffin's new
    book.  _How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (and Why You Should
    Care)_,
    W W Norton, 2007.