In a message dated 98-01-26 07:32:08 EST, Micheal Jorgensen writes: <<...though I certainly respect ET and think it is remarkable how close tuners actually come to it in practice. >> In a message dated 98-01-25 16:18:10 EST, Jim Bryant writes: << b. If the 'contract', as agreed to did not specify a temperament to use and you used a temperament that was not the 'norm' of the community then the contract would not have been fulfilled faithfully. Even if the customer absolutely loved your temperament you would not have lived up to the expectations of the 'norm' and the contract was not fulfilled faithfully. In this situation the customer loved your tuning and accepted it as presented even though it was not in accordance with the contract. c. If the 'contract', as agreed to, did not specify a temperament to use and you used a temperament that was not the 'norm' of the community then the contract would not have been fulfilled faithfully. If in this instance the customer hated or was at least unhappy with the temperament, and desired you to either put a "normal" tuning on it or to leave the premisies, what then do you say? "well mam you just don't appreciate the advantages of this 'historical temperament" and expect to be paid? In this instance you have no right to expect to be paid as you did not live up to the "implicit contract". You can turn and twist this all you like but the act of putting on a non "normal" tuning on a piano without the advice, consent, and knowledge of your customer is unethical and is not tempered by how well or poorly any tuning was done. When it comes to "historical temperaments" Bill your quest should be to 'educate' not 'dictate'.>> There are no statutes on the book here in Madison that state what a "normal" piano tuning is. I doubt if there are anywhere else either. The HT's have been practiced here long enough that they are known and talked about and sometimes specifically requested. It is also well known in my community that I do NOT tune ET. Therefore, there are some customers who do NOT call me because of that. I still have 25-30 piano tunings/sevices to do a week so I can afford to be exclusive about what kind of work I will accept. I am not the only technician here who tunes exclusively HT's. In a message dated 98-01-25 20:18:31 EST, Ralph Martin writes: << If what you say is true (that ET is "dying out") then we are going to be forced back into writing and performing music with very simple chord structures. I simply can't see that happening >> << I offer an historical tuning to every teacher of classical music that I service. Thus far they all seem aware of the other tunings but refuse them in favour of ET anyway. >> With all due respect to Ralph, all kinds of music from classical to contemporary can and are played on HT's here in Madison. If you tune into Public Radio International (the AM band counterpart of National Public Radio) on Saturday mornings from 10 am to 12 pm CST, you can hear a live broadcast from Madison in which the piano is tuned in an HT. The show is called "What d'ya know?". Yes, the pianist is aware of the kind of tuning it is and prefers it. HT's on this program have been in use for many years and so might be considered the "norm". The music played is contempoary jazz and the fact that this music has much complex harmony involving virtually all possible tonalities demonstrates that ET is not required (and in my opinion, not desirable) when playing this or virtually any other kind of music. Again, with all due respect to Ralph, I wonder how the two choices that he offers are being presented? "Normal" vs. "abnormal". "Modern vs. archaic?". "Mean" tones vs. "nice, smooth ones"? I could say for example, "I'll give you a choice in how you'd like your piano tuned: Option A: A nice, well-tempered tuning. It is the way all of the European composers tuned from the time of Bach through the Victorian era. Each key you play in will have a distinct character. At the top of the cycle of 5ths, you will hear smooth, gentle, quiet harmony. In the remote keys, you'll hear beautiful vibrant, singing tones, enhanced leading tones. When you play modern music such as jazz, you'll hear crisp clear harmonies. Option B: A method forced upon the general population in the early 20th Century by people who weren't even musicians. There were people who were trying to define music "scientifically" who prescribed a certain irrational frequency for each note of the scale. Later, a machine called the "Strobe Tuner" was invented to help tuners get these frequencies exactly because it was so difficult for them to do by ear. It became common for tuners to buy these "Strobe Tuners" because tuning in this new "scientific" way was thought to be somehow better than the natural way that the ear hears so easily. If I tune your piano this way, none of the harmony you hear from your traditional and classical music will sound the way the composer intended. Every chord you play will be slightly "sour" and unfocused sounding. There will be no distinction between any of the keys. They will all have that same, undesirable sound. There won't be any reason to modulate from one key to the next because they have all been homogenized into one slightly "sour" but supposedly "scientific" arrangement. The smooth, quiet harmony you expect to hear in the top of the cycle of 5ths will have a "busy", nervous sound to it, quite inappropriate, I'd say. That beautiful "singing" tone you want to hear when you play Chopin will be flattened and dulled over. Your leading tones won't lead so well either. So which would you prefer, Ma'am, option A or B? Bye the way, have you ever heard a piano that someone tuned with a Strobe Tuner?" I find Micheal's observation very interesting. He finds it remarkable how close some technicians come to what is being purported as "normal". On a daily basis, it seems inponderable how many technicians there might be who are not fulfilling contracts by Jim's standards. Of course, I don't offer "Option A or B" to my customers. I do talk about the nature of tuning and temperament with them when I feel it is appropriate to do so. This idea that somehow ET has become "normal" has caused most practitioners of HT's to be wary of how much information it is prudent to disclose when it has not been solicited. Although I am known as an HT practitioner, I am better known as a technician who makes pianos sound and play very well. What the customers recognize is how good the music sounds, how well and long the piano stays in tune and how well it responds because of my attention to other aspects of preparation other than tuning. In my view, the difference I make with an HT is a proportinately very small part of the overall distinction I make for my self by offering a complete, thorough and competent piano service. When the customer wants to talk and have things explained, I am glad to do so. Otherwise, given the very hostile climate that the ET="normal" crowd has created, I prefer to combine two popular slogans as my motto whether it is in regard to tuning, voicing, regulation or any other service I might provide: "Don't ask, don't tell, just do it." Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin
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