The world of temperament

[A440A@AOL.COM]

Greetings all, 
   As we dance with angels on our pin, there are temperament discussions
occurring all across the net.  This is good, it speaks of the vitality in
music.   I am including the following as another perspective on our place in
the world of tuning and the tuning of the world.  It may be the sort of thing
to keep in mind as we argue the finer differences between our endeavors. 
  The following is a post on the "Tuning" list: 
Regards, 
Ed Foote 


Neil Haverstick made an assertion about the impact of the west on tunings

in the rest of the world. This has to be answered in two important regards:





The first is that all of the great cultures of Asia have long possessed

their own technical means to implement such temperaments, without the

influence of western tonal hegemony. Indeed, it is we in the West who owe

the Islamicate world for critical elements of tonal and mathematical

understanding. 



The second point is simply that the major exporters, whether direct or

through corporate holdings, of tempered music, instruments and technology

to the world are East Asian, of which Japan has the largest share. The

major exporter of non-tempered music is the Indian film industry, a major

force in world popular culture, but one virtually unknown in western

countries. In a real sense, a competition between ETs and non-ETs is being

played out on the world stage by India and East Asia. (At the moment, the

score is 2:1 for 12tet Hong Kong martial arts films over Indian musicals.)

Europeans and Americans, although providing raw musical products to the

12tet side, are basically watching it all from the substitute's bench.