temperament

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I wrote: 
>customers that recognize a Kirnberger, and
> several harpsichordists knew when I had changed to a Young for a
performance,  after they had been practising with a Prelleur.

Ric asks: 
   Are you saying they can recognize a Kirnberger tuning simply by listening 
to
a piece being played?  

Greetings, 
   They recognize a Kirnberger just by walking up to the keyboard and playing 
a C triad.  Recognizing the Kirnbergers are relatively easy because there is 
a Just C-E third in the III and Just G-B and F-A in his earlier ones.  You 
don't often find this arrangement in other temperaments, except the meantones)
     
>Or if three instruments are tuned  to Kirnberger,
>Young and Prelleur, they could point out which instrument is tuned to which
>temp?

    Hmm,  I dunno about that.  The Young and Prelleur are not very 
dissimilar, and it would take a more practised ear than my own to distinguish 
between them during play.  However,  judging the ability of ears to 
distinguish between temperaments is mainly of academic interest.  Of more 
importance is the effect on the pianist and the amount of contrast in the 
music.  
   Pianists often comment on how a well tempered piano seems to have power 
steering. There is a clarity in there that is usually the first thing 
noticed.  And why not?  WTs have tucked some of the dissonance away in a 
remote corner,  making the harmony more consonant almost everywhere else in 
the music. 

Ric again:
Of course I am not going to say "because I can't tell the difference no
one else can" but for people like me who are curious, certainly it should be
easy to assertain who does and who does not have this ability.  More
importantly, can this ability be developed, or through training can a person
acquire this ability? 

   Yes, the sensitivity to temperament can be developed.  I did, so I know 
that anybody can.  There is one requirement; the tunings have to be listened 
to.  ET has to be avoided for a while, so that it shows its tonal character 
when you return and listen to it again.  It took me over a week of no-ET 
listening before I was struck by the sound of ET. At that point, I had 
acquired a new perspective: an epiphany that I hadn't expected. 
    As far as distinguishing between the various temperaments,  that is 
difficult, since these differences are often less than what a pianist can 
create through their own ideas of "expression",(like, how edgy should that 
passage in F# be played?  The extra 6 cents in the thirds is just one 
component of the musical impression). 

 >We know pitch recognition seems to be innate, as compared to the ablility 
to recognize intervals which must be acquired through training.   Perhaps an 
evaluation procedure might provide some answers and stimulate new and wider 
interest in the topic of temperament<<

      I hope so,  and we are trying.  That is why I am saying hang on until 
the next temperament CD ("Six Degrees") comes out.  There is one track on it 
in ET,  it is the very last one.  I believe that the ET sound will be 
recognizable after listening to 8 preceding tracks of various temperaments.  
At least, that is the intention. (This subject will be easier to discuss when 
we have an actual artifact to compare our perspectives on).  
Regards, 
ED Foote RPT