alternative temperaments

[Paul]

Ed
I'll blow the dust off Jorgenson's Big Red Book and try it again. My first
attempt was just after the CWR Seminar in Cedar Rapids Iowa, after a class
by Tim Farley. He did an AT (Alternative Temperament) on a spinet, which
made it sound much sweeter than I thought possible. But I took on too much
and became discouraged. I have little trouble hearing and/or distinguishing
beats, so your hand out instructions worked for me. I'm anxious to try for a
little more "Victorian" sound as your notes indicate. Thanks for your
response and encouragement.

Paul Chick
----- Original Message -----
From: <A440A@AOL.COM>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2001 9:10 AM
Subject: Re: alternative temperaments


Paul writes:
<<I tried my hand at tuning the temperament that Ed Foote included with his
class materials <snip> I'm an aural tuner, so setting this temperament was a
bit of a struggle. It did work out. All of the checks proofed correct. I had
several people try the piano. Their reactions is another story. <<

  Hi Paul,  thanks for leaping into the unknown with us!  I do hope you will
keep track of the impressions of those that listen to your new sounds,  the
feedback helps immensely in teaching us what is the most commercially viable
way to use these various levels of tempering.

>>I want to know what is available for tuning instructions for some of these
temperaments for an aural tuner, specifically the Kirnberger, Young,
Broadwood Best, and Jim Coleman's temperaments 11 through 16. <<

   Aural instructions for Jim's tunings are beyond me, but the 'tuning to
taste" program I gave out,(from Jorgensen) will allow you to hit very close
to the traditional tonalities, i.e,  making a pure C-E third in the course
of
the tuning will steer you toward the Kirnberger, and beginning with a C-E at
7 cents will put you very close to the Young.
   Owen Jorgensen's big Red Book has the aural approach for all of these
tunings, and I think it is a good idea for any beginning temperament tuner
to
work through several.  Once the tuner grasps the flexibility allowed in
setting up those 12 notes,  organizing them to taste becomes easy.  If you
can tune an aural ET, all of these others are easy,(the first time just
takes
a little longer).

>>Would a chromatic tuner which displays cents deviation be of any help?

   Perhaps, but tuning them by ear also tunes the tuner's perception, and
that is too important to be ommitted.  After one is familiar with making the
judgements,( I had trouble accepting the tempered fourths of WT until I got
used to a Kirnberger), then a machine is a valuable tool in their
application.

>>I'm very interested in these temperaments and have several people wanting
to try them.>>

  Great!  I salute your initiative and hope that you will find a new
enthusiasm among your customers.  It is very gratifying to hear a customer
say that a change from the tuner has re-awakened an interest in their piano!
Good luck,
Ed Foote RPT

This may be of some use.
   The following is the 1840 Tuner's Guide Temperament #1 (® Owen Jorgensen
1991).  It provides a conservative digression between sweet thirds and some
with "energy".  There are no checks, you will develop a sense of tonal
comparison after you do it and listen a little.

1.  fork = C5
2.  C5 - C4   Just
3.  C4 -  G4  temper narrow to approx 1.3 bps
4   G4 - G3  Just
5.  G3 - D4  narrow 1.3 bps
6.  D4 - A4     narrow 1.3
7   A4 - A3  just
8.  A3  - E4    narrow 1.3

Trial chord here is C4-E4-G4-C5 and it should sound beautiful.  The C-E will
be beating about half normal speed .

9.    E4 - B4      narrow by .7 BPS,  this is a nicer fifth than those
previous!
10   B4 - B3    Just
11.  B3  - F#4    narrow by .7 BPS
12   F#4  -  F#3  just
13.  F#3 - C#4  narrow  by .7 BPS
14.  C#4  - G#4  Just
15.  G#4  - G#3  Just
16.  C5  - F4  narrow by 1.3 bps
17.  F4 - Bb3  narrow by 1.3 bps
18.  Bb3  - Bb4 Just
19.   Tune Eb4  to make two identical fifths between Bb-Eb and Ab-Eb.  These
fifths should be pure, but can stand a little temperament.

      This tuning provides a varied set of consonances, in the thirds, that
follow the amount of key signature. If you modulate by fourths, from C,
tonic
thirds should increase in size until you reach F#, at which point it will
begin heading back toward "home".  The art is in getting a smooth
progression, with no reversals on the way out or in.