I agree entirely Jason I use what amounts to the 5:4:3:2: and 1: partials to achieve an aural perfect 12ths tuning all the time. The control note is the one with the 5th partial. If for example you are tuning C6, then A#3 is the control note and you will be comparing beat rates of C4, F4, C5 and C6. Its late here so I'll post a complete routine for aurally doing this tommorrow Cheers RicB Essentially this yields placing your octave stretch consistently. There are some powerful arguments for using perfect 3:1. Because ET fifths (and twelfths) are contracted, but pianos need stretch, the perfect 3:1 brings these two factors into alignment -- the beating twelfths become beatless and the resulting stretch handles the inharmonicity of the octaves. All Baldassin's work is about aligning harmonics -- we generally hear the 3rd partial pretty strongly, and if it's perfect that can make for a very nice tuning. Look in the archives for P12. Jason
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