JND (Foote)

[Billbrpt@aol.com]

In a message dated 98-02-07 18:04:16 EST, you write:

<<  A mild Victorian tuning on Ronnie Milsap's piano had him calling his other
 tuner the next day to come tune the piano in ET.  I heard about it and called
 Ronnie  to ask what it was that bothered him.  He said  that when he wanted
 "all of the chords to sound alike".  His JND here was about 3 cents in the
 worst third.  >>

    When Ronnie Milsap performed here in Madison some years ago, he was so
angry at the tuning that was provided to him that he got up and mashed his
foot into the dampers.  That tuner insists that his tuning is ET and like a
lot of people who really ought to know better, condemns any use of an HT in
any situation.  What gets me is that I know very well that this tuner's
temperament is not equal but he believes what he wants to believe and has long
been set in his ways.  Most likely, he will never be able to tune an ET that
would pass the PTG RPT Exam and yet he is a well-liked, well respected,
professional piano tuner who lists his credentials in the phone book as
"Concert Piano Technician".
    This is also a rather unusual example, an artist who explicitly states
that he "wants all his chords to sound the same".  Most performers, I submit,
still believe in the concept of "key color".  They want it, they expect it but
are also admittedly confused about the issue of temperament.  There can never
be a "one size fits all".

    Bill Bremmer RPT
     Madison, Wisconsin