more on this temperament thing

[Tom Servinsky]

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Bill,
Very well said. I applaud you  for your  tenacity in pursing your =
approach.
I guess this is one of those threads which excites a lot of us who have =
strong feelings on all sides of this discussion.=20
Tom Servinsky,RPT
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Billbrpt@AOL.COM=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2001 1:54 PM
  Subject: Re: more on this temperament thing


  In a message dated 10/18/01 12:28:26 PM Central Daylight Time, =
drwoodwind@hotmail.com (Ron Koval) writes:=20



    I hear from other tuners, that they would like to appreciate HT's, =
but the=20
    dissonences just get in the way.  I'm not surprised, considering the =
choice=20
    of temperaments listed; Young, Kirnberger III, and the Coleman XI =
are all=20
    pretty strong choices!  There is an 'aquired' aspect to tuning in=20
    temperaments, and it becomes easier to accept 'stronger' =
temperaments the=20
    more they are heard.=20



  I read consistently good thinking from you on this subject, Ron.  =
Congratulations!  I also liked what Tom S. had to say.  I'm tempted to =
write a long essay which few people might read but I don't have the time =
right now.  I've said it all before anyway.=20

  I'm sure that some people expect me to rant and rave, saying, to =
paraphrase a couple of others, "The more H in the HT, the better" but =
I'm not going to do that and it doesn't reflect my views anyway.=20

  The truth is that I am forced to listen and work with pianos tuned in =
ET all the time, whether I want to or not.  I appreciate a =
professionally tuned piano in ET and have no gripe against it.  Those =
technicians who insist upon ET however must realize that they are =
imposing *their* values and belief system on everyone else.  It's =
understandable, it's the way they were trained.=20

  I went through that period myself, long ago.  I would not use =
Kirnberger, Werkmeister, Young or any of these most commonly known HT's =
for Jazz, Romantic, Pop or anything else, precisely for the reasons the =
others have stated.  Since I rarely tune a piano for one specific type =
of music for a single performance, I would almost never use any of these =
HT's.  I don't consider them appropriate for the modern piano, just as =
the people who have said that they do not and for the same reasons they =
do not.=20

  What needs to be understood is that this "the *more* E in the T, the =
better" is a fallacy in itself.  Remember George Orwell who made fun of =
that concept?  Once it is not E, it is not E.  One temperament cannot be =
more E than the other.  I accept that when the T is really E, *some* =
people like it best.  But many, if not most have expressed a liking for =
that *almost* E but not taking it as far as *MEAN* (as in gritting your =
teeth, shaking your head, leaving the room muttering how the world has =
gone NUTS) tone.=20

  And thanks, Ron for saying that the same applies to octaves too.  What =
sounds pure and *good* to the technician may well sound dull and flat to =
the musician but not always.=20

  My goal is clarity, definition and texture, together providing for a =
more musically pleasing and appropriate sound from the modern piano, not =
unacceptability.=20

  Bill Bremmer RPT=20
  Madison, Wisconsin=20

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