Great post. That "diminishment" of beats when intervals and chords are played happens every time when I tune. When a piano is tuned CUSTOM, meaning for its specific and singular inharmonicity curve, the psycho- acoustic illusion of disappearing beats occurs. One can produce highly musical, repeatable, singing, resonant stable tunings, based on a repeatable and highly idealized temperament, if one chooses to unleash the power of one's own multi-trillion-dollar package. After hundreds and thousands of repetitions, my body knows how to tune pianos. I use it like the finest ETD; whatever the trillion-dollar unit says, that's how I tune. I used to override my innate wisdom, my body's unspoken skill, by doubting my ability, rationalizing my errors, and doubting the very nature of the physical universe, to wit: in every single piano on the planet IF THE FOURTHS ARE EXPANDED AND SLOWLY ROLLING (1-2bps)AND THE FIFTHS ARE CONTRACTED SLIGHTLY, WITH NO DISCERNIBLE BEAT, YOU WILL HAVE AN IDEALIZED AND CUSTOM EQUAL TEMPERAMENT. Period. The end. Done. Boom! DA On Mar 9, 2009, at 2:32 PM, Jim Moy wrote: > At the risk of introducing more speculation to this topic, I thought I > would relate something I have not read on this thread yet. I was one > of a dozen or so people in attendance at Bernhard's session at the > last national PTG convention in Anaheim, where he demonstrated his > software. > > One part that was striking to me was that interval tests, of course, > produced various levels of beats as we, who have trained to aurally > isolate them, are used to recognizing. But when he then played those > intervals in the context of chords and arpeggios there was > *diminishment* of that beating. They were clearly not as audible as > during the playing of the isolated intervals. I do not hear this > cancellation of beats when I tune, either aurally or with my usual > Tunelab techniques. I am not an expert tuner by any account, but when > I aurally isolate the intervals of my own tunings, I hear pretty much > what I heard when I was setting and testing the intervals in isolation > from, well, music. > > I have not purchased Bernhard's software (yet), because I am > uncomfortable not being able to explain or understand any tools I use > (so maybe his upcoming publication will assist me), but he is > certainly doing something very interesting. > > Jim Moy >
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC