<HTML><HEAD> <META charset=US-ASCII http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; cha= rset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fffff= f"> <DIV> <DIV>In a message dated 8/21/2004 7:15:03 AM Pacific Standard Time, mkurta@a= delphia.net writes:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue = 2px solid"><FONT face=Arial size=2>article in print that relates words t= o beat speeds, i.e. mississippi being a four beat per second indicator</FONT= ></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV>How fast you say Mississippi depends upon whether or not you're from Mi= ssissippi ! Words like that are useful mostly for comparing rates rather tha= n establishing them. With a good temperament system like the conti= guous thirds, there's really no reason to know how to count 7.9463 beats per= second, as everything is done by comparison. An F-A third is not the same f= rom one piano to the next anyway.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>For instance:</DIV> <DIV>Tune A4, then A3 and A2. Most people can tune a reasonably usable = octave, even without tests, but there are all sorts of aural comparison=  tests available to tune any type of octave that seems appropriate.</DI= V> <DIV>Tune C#3 about as fast above A3 as your watch ticks (if your watch= is 4 bps like mine), or maybe barely faster. Absolute accuracy IS= NOT essential at this step.</DIV> <DIV>Tune F3 so C#3-F3 is a little faster. F3-A3 should be faster yet. Readj= ust only two notes, C#3 and F3, until the speeds seem to increase evenly. Ev= en now don't worry about the absolute. </DIV> <DIV>Tune C#4 and F4 as octaves. Play contiguous 3rds over the two octa= ves. Don't count, just listen to the speeds increase. Extending it into the = second octave like this usually makes mistakes start to stick out like = a sore thumb. For instance, if you got the lower C# and F just a s= queak high, there will be a big jump between C#3-F3 and F3-A3. A surpri= sing amount of refinement can be done without any counting, but NOW you can&= nbsp;use the Mississippi/University 4:5 business I talked about in another p= ost to get even closer. This is easiest in the lower octave where the beats = are slower. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I like to alternate between crude and refined tuning. Tune the octaves = quickly until they sound good, then use the fine tests to nail them down, th= en leave them as anchors. Tune the thirds quickly, listen to what they tell = you, then use finer and finer comparisons to nail them down and leave them. = >From this point on, you can't go very far wrong.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Bob Davis</DIV></BODY></HTML>