alternative temperaments

[Jay Mercier]

My humble opinion:

I've had great success with this temperament.  It is easier and faster than 
tuning ET.  Tuning pianos with EBVT for half a year has really sped up my 
tuning time, and allows for that extra appointment each day.

EBVT has also made me a better ET tuner.  I don't know why, it's just so.  
It seems that my skills tuning ET is better than ever since returning to it 
- the reason being since I'm taking the tuning test soon.  As a player, 
playing in EBVT vs. ET is the difference between apples and oranges.  Each 
has its flavor.

Jay Mercier
PTG Associate
Glenwood, MN


>From: Billbrpt@AOL.COM
>Reply-To: pianotech@ptg.org
>To: pianotech@ptg.org
>Subject: Re: alternative temperaments
>Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 13:31:58 EDT
>
>In a message dated 4/7/01 11:28:35 AM Central Daylight Time,
>tunenbww@clear.lakes.com (Paul) writes:
>
> > 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.
>
>I'm glad that you are an aural tuner because I have the ideal temperament 
>for
>you to try.  It will be in the same general area as Jim Coleman's #11, yet
>different enough to be quite significantly different in the overall effects
>it produces when actual music is played.  The difference is in the effects
>that Equal Beating (EB) produces.
>
>While not attempting to say anything negative about Jim Coleman's idea, it
>was formed simply by meting out certain proportions for various intervals,
>giving up purity at the top of the Cycle of 5ths in order to avoid 
>harshness
>at the bottom.  Mine does essentially the same thing but because of the EB
>effect, you can play early music with it and have it mimic the sound of a
>much earlier temperament which would have uncalled for harshness in the
>remote keys when trying to play music from the 19th or 20th Centuries.
>
>What happens is a canceling out effect in the Rapidly Beating Intervals
>(RBI), e.g., 3rds, 6ths, 10ths & 17ths that make them sound much purer than
>they really are.  This is not an imaginary effect.  It is the same effect
>found in such acoustical tricks as Noise Cancellation Systems and Beat
>Eliminators.  The gist of it is that when there are two sets of beats
>occurring at the same time, they phase each other out so that they are not
>perceived by the ear.
>
>This gives you an advantage in that you can have a true, Cycle of 5ths 
>based
>temperament that can and does work well with virtually any kind of music, 
>the
>way only ET is believed to be able to do.  There are many myths about ET 
>and
>one of them is that it is "Universally" practiced.  In fact, most aural
>tuners cannot really produce a true ET.  There is always some error and 
>that
>error does produce an effect or "color", as it is called in the music.
>
>The Equal Beating Victorian Temperament (EBVT) that I designed stays well
>within the bounds of deviation (or "error") in ET that most aural tuners
>produce.  Therefore, it produces no sound so extreme (either too pure or 
>too
>harsh) that the *contemporary* ear will reject it.  I designed and
>implemented this temperament in 1992 and have used it ever since as my own
>personal replacement for ET.  I have, in fact, tuned no pianos in ET since
>1989.  I tune all kinds of pianos, in homes, schools, churches, concert
>halls, restaurants, hotels, etc.  I have a very loyal and devoted following
>that really likes the way I make my pianos sound.
>
>Ed Foote's latest essay found in the liner notes of his new CD is quite
>impressive.  But I find a couple of areas of temperament research lacking 
>in
>his study that I usually find, even among the most knowledgeable 
>alternative
>temperament practitioners.  There seems to be only one "Meantone", the most
>extreme form, the one that makes the modern piano sound like an antique one
>with virtually none of the resonance we expect to hear.  There are whole
>classes of temperaments that remain ignored and unexplored, the Modified
>Meantones (not the same kind of temperament as a "Meantone") and the Quasi
>Equal Temperaments.  The EBVT is, in fact a Modified Meantone Temperament
>although it also just barely satisfies the Rules for Well-Tempered Tuning 
>as
>written by Andreas Werkmeister in the 17th Century.
>
>Ed mentioned in a recent post that a Gershwin piece in Db would have 
>sounded
>"better" in ET.  I've seen him say the same about Chopin and Debussy.  I
>respectfully disagree.  There is a reason that these composers chose a 
>remote
>key, the challenge is to find the exact combinations that make it sound
>vibrant and singing but not harsh.  ET is merely the default choice for 
>those
>who do not have the answer.  It neutralizes the piano to the point where it
>would make no difference at all which key is chosen to play in.  I hardly
>think anyone would choose ET if they really knew how much better music 
>could
>sound with a more advanced approach to tuning.
>
>Below are the basic instructions for the EBVT.  It cannot be tuned the way
>most people are trying to attempt alternative temperaments, by imposing a 
>set
>of "Correction Figures" to a smooth curve calculation for ET using an
>Electronic Tuning Device (ETD).  If you tune the octaves the way I have
>indicated in a very brief description, they will naturally be of different
>sizes as you ascend and descend the scale.  No smooth curve calculation can
>produce this.  They are known as "Tempered Octaves".
>
>If you or anyone is interested in reading a background article I have 
>written
>to support my ideas called "Key Color", please request it privately.  It is
>too long to post on Pianotech.  Also, please inquire if you need further
>explanation of how to tune the octaves.  It is really quite easy and simple
>but not the way you have probably been taught.
>
>Good luck with this and let me and/or the List know of your own reaction 
>and
>those of your customers.
>
>Regards,
>
>Bill Bremmer RPT
>Madison, Wisconsin
>
>                       EBVT Aural Tuning Instructions:  Introduction
>
>Below are the line by line instructions for tuning the EBVT.  You will 
>begin
>by estimating just 2 intervals, a 5th which you will temper just slightly
>more than you would for ET and a 3rd which you will temper about half as 
>much
>as you would for ET.  Thereafter, all you will need to do is either tune an
>interval perfectly pure or make it beat exactly the same as another.  In
>short, the temperament sequence itself provides you with the exact
>information you need.
>
>The instructions include the aural way of proving your pure 4ths and 5ths.
>When doing an initial first rough pass, it is not necessary to prove these
>intervals so exactly.  Also, the instructions have several places where 
>they
>tell you to "temporarily tune...etc".  These are for people who are just
>beginning to learn the temperament sequence.
>
>With experience and during the fine tuning of the temperament, you may skip
>the "temporary" part the same way you learn to skip elementary steps in
>Algebra.  You simply learn how to make 2 intervals beat exactly the same as
>each other by placing the note to be tuned at point where it creates 2
>equally beating intervals.  This is also called "Meantone tuning".
>
>The following is the way the 3rds played chromatically will sound from 
>F3-F4.
>  Just imagine all values inverted and you have the most commonly made 
>error
>in tuning today which is known as "Reverse Well".
>
>F3-A3: slow
>F#3-A#3: fast
>G3-B3: slow
>Ab3-C4: quite fast
>A3-C#4: moderate, about the same as ET
>Bb-D4: moderate
>B3-D#4: very fast
>C4-E4: slow, half the speed of ET
>C#4-F4: very fast
>
>
>                      Equal Beating Victorian Temperament
>
>       (Equal Beating Victorianized Modified Meantone Temperament)
>
>                       Instructions for Aural Tuning
>                          (With Tempered Octaves)
>
>
>1.  Tune A4 to A-440 pitch source.
>2.  Tune A3 to A4, stretching the octave to a a 6:3 type.
>3.  Temper E4 from A3, a narrow 5th, a little more than an Equal
>     Temperament (ET) 5th but still slightly less than 1 beat per second.
>     This is an estimate and may be checked or adjusted later, if
>     necessary.
>4.  Listen to the 4th, E4-A4.  It should beat faster than the 5th, A3-E4
>     but should not be faster than 2 beats per second.
>5.  Temper C4 from E4, a wide Major 3rd to beat approximately 6 beats per
>     second. (Half the speed of the same interval in ET.)
>6.  Temper G3 from E4, a wide Major 6th so that it beats exactly the same
>     as the C4-E4 3rd. (Approximately 6 beats per second).
>7.  Temper B3 from G3, a wide Major 3rd so that it beats exactly the same
>     as both the C4-E4 3rd and the G3-E4 6th. (Approximately 6 beats per
>     second).
>8.  Temporarily tune D4 a pure 4th from A4 then notice the strong beat
>     in the 5th G3-D4 and sharpen D4 until the beat is exactly the same
>     in both the G3-D4 5th and the A3-D4 4th. (Faster than the same
>     interval in ET.)
>9.  Tune F3 a pure 5th from C4.  To check this interval, use G#2 as the
>     test note and prove that the Ab2-F3 6th beats exactly the same as
>     the Ab2-C4 10th.
>10.  Tune F4 a pure 4th from C4.  To check this interval, use G#3 as the
>     test note and prove that the 3rd Ab3-C4 beats exactly the same as the
>     Ab3-F4 6th.
>11. Verify the F3-F4 octave.  Using the test for a pure 5th which chooses
>     the lowest coincident partial of F3 & C4 and the test for the pure 4th
>     C4-F4 will yield a properly stretched octave, usually a compromise
>     between a 4:2 & 6:3 type.
>12. Check the speed of the 3rd, F3-A3.  It should beat exactly the same
>     or very similarly to the 3rds G3-B3 and C4-E4.  If it is too slow,
>     adjust the note, E4 slightly flatter and begin the sequence again.
>     If too fast, adjust E4 slightly sharper and restart the sequence.
>13. Tune Bb3 a pure 5th from F4.  Use the test note C#3 to prove that the
>     Db3-Bb3 6th beats exactly the same as the Db3-F4 10th.
>14. Listen to the resultant 3rd, Bb3-D4.  Temper C#4 so that the A3-C#4
>     3rd beats exactly the same as the Bb3-D4 3rd.
>15. Tune F#3 a pure 5th from C#4.  Use the test note A2 to prove that the
>     A2-F#3 6th beats exactly the same as the A2-C#4 10th.
>16. Tune G#3 a pure 4th from C#4.  Use the test note E3 to prove that the
>     E3-G#3 3rd beats exactly the same as the E3-C#4 6th.  The Ab3-C4 3rd
>     will beat exactly the same as the F#3-A#3 3rd.
>17. Temporarily tune D#4 a pure 5th from G#3 then notice the slight beat
>     between D#4 & A#3 and flatten D#4 until the G#3-D#4 5th beats exactly
>     the same as the A#3-D#4 4th. It will be a very slight beat, less than
>     the same interval in ET. The B3-D#4 3rd will beat very rapidly, at
>     least as fast as the F#3-A#3 & Ab3-C4 3rds below and similar to but
>     perhaps not quite as fast as the C#4-F4 3rd above.
>18. When expanding the octaves do so in a manner which will cause the
>     2nd inversion major triads of C, G, D, A, E, & B to have the 3rd & 6th
>     beat exactly the same.  The octave should be stretched enough so that
>     there is a very slight beat in the single octave (approximately 1/2
>     beat per second) and that the tempered 5th will beat slower than the
>     4th. When both the 4th and the 5th were pure in the temperament, the
>     octave will naturally be stretched a little less than an octave
>     whose 4th and 5th are tempered.
>19. When expanding the outer octaves, try to reconcile the double octave
>     and the octave and a 5th (12th) so that the double octave and the 12th
>     beat exactly the same. (A very slight beat, almost inaudible). This
>     will naturally result in octaves which vary slightly in size up and
>     down the keyboard. These will quite effectively be "tempered
>     octaves".
>
>Bill Bremmer RPT
>Madison, Wisconsin
>April, 2000
>
>
>

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