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<P><FONT size=2>For those who like the visual display: here it is. A
dromedary temperament with two humps. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><IMG src="cid:109120805@12042006-1011"></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff>Another aspect that may or may
not turn out relevant to the nuanced sound/feel of a temperament <BR>is the beat
ratio within a triad. E.g., in the C major triad the minor third EG and the
major third CE beat <BR>in a ratio of ~2.5 to 1 (or 5 to 2). The supposition is
that nice clean single number ratios make for a nice "tremolo" effect --<BR>ET
has a m/M beat ratio of about 1.7. Here is the graph of the Bach-Lehman beat
ratios, suggesting that keys of C and F<BR>are pretty close to 5/2, G and D
pretty close to 2/1, and E, B and Gb just about 3/2 ... maybe this makes it
sound nice??<BR>Unclear until other temperaments are compared in this way .. but
interesting for the nonce</FONT></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff>:</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><IMG src="cid:109120805@12042006-1018"><BR><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff>(For more along these lines visit <A
href="http://rollingball.com/TemperamentsFrames.htm">http://rollingball.com/TemperamentsFrames.htm</A>)</FONT></FONT></P><FONT
size=2>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P><FONT face="Arial Narrow" size=5><B><SPAN>|| ||| || ||| || ||| || ||| || |||
|| ||| || </SPAN></B></FONT><BR><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Jason Kanter .
jkanter@rollingball.com<BR>Piano tuning, regulation, repair<BR>Serving Seattle
and the San Juans<BR><B><BIG>425.830.1561</BIG></B> </SPAN></P></DIV>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff></FONT><BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>From:
pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [<A
href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org">mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</A>] On
Behalf Of A440A@aol.com<BR>Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2006 8:37 PM<BR>To:
pianotech@ptg.org<BR>Subject: Re: Feedback or Controversy on Bach/Lehman's
temperament ?<BR><BR> << Did any of you try the Bach/Lehman
temperament<BR>>(<<A href="http://larips.com">http://larips.com</A>><A
href="http://larips.com">http://larips.com</A>) ?<BR> Is it good, Great or
just common ? Do you believe<BR>>it IS the original J.S.Bach's temperament ?
etc... >><BR><BR>Greetings,<BR> First,
there are three questions, and two of them unanswerable. I have tried this
tuning on a piano, and it had some nice qualities, however, I don't know that we
can classify these temperaments as great, good, or common without having some
agreed upon ideal. An ideal from which their departure can
be<BR>measured. I would suggest the Young, with perfect symmetry
from one beat a<BR>second in C to a full comma in F#, it follows Werckmeister's
rules).<BR>
Unlike ET, well-temperaments create a tonal palette and some were better for
particular composers than others. The Bach-Lehman is milder at both extremes
than a number of widely published temps in that the C-E and F-A thirds are
tempered about 6 cents and the most expressive third is the E-G# at almost 20
cents. In terms of Jorgensen's definition of harmonic balance, it is
poorly balanced. It might be head and shoulders above any other temperment
for the music of a composer that used it to write the music, but in general
terms, it is somewhat out of step with a lot of the other
temperments.<BR> I doubt that Bach had the same
tuning under his hands all the time, so the idea someone finding "his"
temperament seems rather specious to me. It is plausible that he was using
a well temperment, since much of his stuff is rather greviously interrupted by
wolves when played on meantone. Which WT is a matter of conjecture.
I have listened to the WTC on a Kirnberger III and reveled in how expressive
some highly tempered 17ths were. Their speed is only slightly varied in
the milder forms, and it would take a more educated ear than mine to actually
hear the difference between a Kirnberger and a Werckmeister. <BR> Some
of the latest research into Bach's tuning involves a code of sorts
that<BR>graces the front cover of the WTC. It contains the reversed
image of a<BR>series of notes, and has been "decoded" to give a tuning that is
making some rather strenuous claims to
authenticity.<BR> Even
though we may not be able to discern the exact differences between temperaments
upon listening, (and we gotta admit, this is nuance level stuff), there IS
a difference in what the sensitive performer feels, and any given temperament's
reception will be a product of the technician's choice and<BR>the performer's
expectations. I favor an ultra-conservative approach. I
keep<BR>the concert pianos in a Moore and Company "Victorian" era
well-temperament as their default tuning. I can call it a "quasi-equal"
tuning around most of the faculty without causing alarm. It can move into
a Broadwood tuning or ET without anything having to move over three cents.
All our pianos are used for a wide variety of stuff, accompanying all sorts of
instruments, and nobody has said a word about the lack of equality. There
are numerous pianists that<BR>really like the pianos,
though. <BR> I have moved one of
them into a Coleman 11 for an all Mozart and Schubert program and it went over
well. Mixed programs might force a compromise so that the later pieces
don't get "bent" by something best suited for a century
before. <BR> The Bradley Lehman tuning
seemed harsh in places I didn't expect it. <BR>I remember E and A
both verging on uncomfortable for me. Since the piano's vastly different
overtone spectrum may make a caricature out of a temperament that was nicely
colorful on a harpsichord or fortepiano, I don't know what this tuning
would sound like on a more authentic instrument, but regardless, the balance is
still sorta weird. <BR>Regards,<BR><BR>Ed Foote RPT<BR><A
href="http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html">http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html</A><BR>www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html<BR><BR></P></FONT></BODY></HTML>