I think I heard Owen Jorgensen say "There are no better temperaments, only different ones", and that quoted by others..... Then "not taken too far"......... Who gets to be the judge, except when a pianist particularly wishes such? les bartlett -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org]On Behalf Of David Love Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2007 2:57 PM To: 'Pianotech List' Subject: RE: Temperament selection The only problem with that argument is that on one hand you are arguing that a WT piano will seem to have greater sonority than an ET one which I would attribute to the impact of the keys in which the 3rds are more pure. Then you are arguing that listeners will not register a faster third as "out of tune" until it reaches a certain limit. While I agree that there is a window, you can't have it both ways. If you argue that WTs sound more sonorous than ET and that people respond to that difference then it is the slower beating thirds which are responsible for that, even if they are only slightly more slowly beating. By the same token it would then stand to reason that if you played in keys on the backside of the circle of fifths--those keys with 4 or more sharps and flats--that those keys would sound less sonorous, which is what I hear. While the contrast may create a more unpredictable and therefore interesting palette, I think it can be misleading to use the sonority argument as there is both greater and lesser sonority depending on the key. Also, I find it somewhat contradictory to say that people can both hear the difference and respond to it but don't really register the difference at the same time. That being said, I do find that WTs offer something interesting and versatile when not taken too far. David Love davidlovepianos at comcast.net www.davidlovepianos.com But really, the question is how much tempering can a third take before it becomes a liability rather than an asset. Few musicians or listeners register a faster third as "out of tune" until it exceeds some limit. That limit is, in some degree, dependant on the listener's expectation. It is amazing how little notice is given to the change of temperament if nothing is said, but how huge a thing it is becomes if somebody becomes intimidated by their fear of the unknown. I haven't really heard music that sounded better in ET, unless it was some 20th century compositions and some jazz,(though, many jazz players and songwriters around here are real happy to play in the WT environment. Regards, Ed Foote RPT http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html <BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> See what's free at http://www.aol.com.</HTML> -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.4.0/760 - Release Date: 4/13/2007 8:04 PM -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.4.0/760 - Release Date: 4/13/2007 8:04 PM
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