Unequal Temperaments

[Billbrpt@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 6/11/00 1:59:02 PM Central Daylight Time, 
remoody@midstatesd.net (Richard Moody) writes:
 
 << What is a DeMorgan? >>
 
Since Ed won't come right out and say it, it is Reverse Well.  It is a 
purposefully and organized way of doing Reverse Well but nevertheless, 
Reverse Well.  It is also not a Quasi Equal Temperament as Ed suggested but 
listed simply as Unequal Temperament.  Not all HT's reported in Jorgensen's 
book can be considered to have the same value.  Some have very limited and 
restricted applications.  Others are pure folly such as Charles Babbington's 
"Fine Tuning" (Section 159, page, 530).  Babbington's is also a blatant and 
lopsided Reverse Well.
 
Reverse Well appeals to people who have been raised on it.  They have always 
believed that what they were getting was ET or at least, "The Regular".  
Temperament styles or varieties have never before been discussed among these 
people.  They have always assumed that there is only one right way to tune a 
piano and whatever they have been given was the right way.  Some of these 
people have gone on to become highly skilled and even professional pianists.
 
 Because music of Chopin and other Romantics is often written in Ab or Db for 
the very reason that these keys will have the most energy in virtually any 
Well-Tempered Tuning (WT) or Meantone Temperament (MT), pianists who have, 
for their entire lives, been deprived of that power and energy have learned 
to "bang" all the harder in those keys just to get some kind of color out of 
the piano.  When you give them Reverse Well on purpose, you give them a piano 
they can "bang" on as hard as they possibly can and still not get a bad or 
distorted sound.
 
 These kind of pianists will even complain that ET does not sound right, let 
alone a mild Victorian or stronger WT or MT.  They are like bullfighters who 
must weaken the animal by stabbing it with a sword in order to have something 
they can compete with and ultimately defeat.  So, it's a good idea to be able 
to give the customer what they want no matter if what they want is completely 
backwards and goes against the grain of every precedent that had been 
established throughout musical history.
 
 I, for one, would not be interested in hearing Chopin in DeMorgan.  It is 
laughable at best.
 
 Bill Bremmer RPT
 Madison, Wisconsin