ET

[Rob Kiddell]

From:           	A440A@AOL.COM
Date sent:      	Thu, 5 Nov 1998 20:01:18 EST
To:             	pianotech@ptg.org
Subject:        	Re:  ET
Send reply to:  	pianotech@ptg.org

> Jon asks:
> >Please complete the following sentence.
> >Equal Temperament is more widely accepted and versitile because . . .
> 
> 1) it is all that the vast majority has ever known
> 
> Regards,
> Ed Foote 
> Precision Piano Works
> Nashville, Tn. 
>  

Eh, 

	From what I can piece together, ET (or approximate variations 
thereof) has been a work in progress for the last 150 years or more.
	So... because the vast majority has practised ET is not 
because they are wrong (or bent on world domination)...
but because they have been contributing to an ongoing effort to 
have a playable keyboard system in the available keys. This has 
been evident in the evolvement of temperaments 
contemporaneously with the development of pianos; and current 
tuning practise is a natural result of this ongoing progression.

caveat: whomever misinterprets the above to be a personal attack 
on their personal system of carefully constructed beliefs, it is not, 
merely a statement of what has transpired prior to the author 
(namely: ME!) but what I have been trained to understand, (and 
accept, and learn from) 

So having made my position perfectly clear... 

How does a historical perspective reconcile itself with current 
instruments and tuning practise?

Let it be known that I have worked with several Baroque 
harpsichordists and found that they choose tune in ET because 
this is what they are familiar with and the orchestras are 
comfortable with.

Are they wrong? Should they change temperaments with the 
programs they play? Should they ditch their 18th C violins and 
violas for modern instruments?

I am asking for some moderation here... we should realize what 
century we inhabit and what kind of instruments we work with. We 
have the luxury of discriminating between 18th and 19th C 
instruments. We should also realize that calling for a documented 
HT is not necessarily the cure-all. We (as techs and musical 
advisors) have to accept what we are working with and adjust 
accordingly. 

The blather (and real honest discussion) over HT vs ET has been 
severely blurred. Statements like the above (and Mr. Foote, I have 
a great deal of respect for you, you have done a lot to further the 
knowledge of Historical Temperaments) serve to further the division 
that ET tuners see over historical temperaments.

It's not a case of my temperament is better than yours (witness the 
1/7 comma meantone temperament as a tonic for the ET) but  a 
genuine appreciation for music evolvement and digression, evident 
in discussion over temperaments and practise. 

As technicians, it is our duty (and pleasure) to discuss and present 
alternate forms of musical practise and technique to interested 
parties (ie: our clients, should they be receptive), based on our 
knowledge and willingness to disseminate our knowledge. 

This should never be abused.    


Regards,

 
Rob Kiddell, 
Registered Piano Technician, PTG
atonal@telusplanet.net

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