>I have thought much along those lines. A tuning machine that simply repeats in real >time the actual beats per second registered for any given interval. This would leave >much more control in the hands of the tuner. It would also be an invaluable learning >tool with regards for getting a feel for beats per second. Richard, Back in 1978(?) at a regional seminar here in Wichita, someone showed up with a couple of prototype machines. One had a digital readout, and was intended as a tuning aid, I think, and another was a beat enhancer with microphone and earphones to pick up, clarify, and amplify the beats during tuning. I didn't pay much attention to them at the time because I still had too many basic survival skills to learn and didn't have any brain cells to spare. I don't know what became of either project (anyone remember this?), but what you describe here should be quite doable in software. It would have to take measurements from the piano and compute a tuning, like existing programs, and figure interval beat rates from the measured partial structure, adjusted to the computed tuning. I'm just not sure how much use it would be, since the actual frequency of the notes would have to be figured to generate the beat rates, the visual display gives you an indication of where you are. Then again, a second visual indication of the actual measured beat of a test interval against the computed optimal beat rate could, indeed, be interesting. Then again, something that "merely" measures and records beats of ascending interval progressions and visually graphs them without judgement as to the frequencies involved could be a flexible and comparatively simple aid to the aural tuner trying to set temperaments of any particular flavor or blend across scale breaks. Interesting thought. Ron
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