I Wish!( 2nd topic)

[David Love]

Admittedly, it's been awhile since a read Jorgensen, but I thought that he
suggested that, among other things, the development of ET was limited by the
instruments.  I could be wrong.  I think that when this yet to be published
article comes out you might see that there is evidence that awareness of the
relationships between contiguous thirds did exist and bearing plans for
achieving ET were established by the German tuners much earlier than current
arguments would suggest.

Now, in all fairness, I have not read the article, I have only had a
discussion with its author.  I am not trying to push an agenda, just
interested in what the research shows.  I can appreciate the tenacity with
which people have worked to correct what they believe are misconceptions and
misunderstandings about the history of tuning.  I trust that if evidence
were presented to show otherwise, however, they would present the new data
with no less conviction.  Whatever the research shows, that does not
preclude anyone from tuning in any manner they wish.  Aesthetic judgments
are made in music all the time.  There is no reason that tuning philosophy
should not be part of that decision making process.  But I think we all
would be best served (not least of all our customers) by keeping an open
mind as to what the research shows.

David Love

----- Original Message -----
From: <A440A@AOL.COM>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: March 13, 2002 6:00 PM
Subject: Re: I Wish!( 2nd topic)


> David writes:
> >There does seem to be this notion that ET was not possible on the
instruments
> >of that day.  This idea has been promulgated by Jorgensen and others.
>
>  Greetings,
>      Um,  could we clarify this a little?  I don't think Jorgensen posited
> that the instruments were the problem, (ET is as easily tuned on the
> fortepiano as it is on a modern one, in my limited experience).  Rather,
the
> technolgy, in the form of the tests required, was lacking.  When was it
> available and how long would it plausibly have taken to displace the
status
> quo, (MT and WT).
>      Seems to me that the "Riddle" was not the existance of ET, but
rather,
> how to go about achieving it.  An analogy to creating ET might be the
Rubik's
> cube.  Both are very simple concepts, just put all like colors on each
side,
> or simply space all those 12 notes equidistant from one another.  However,
> the interrelated nature of the components makes either of these a very
> complicated enterprise to actually achieve, especially since the sound
dies
> away on a strung instrument,(Mersenne suggests that ET wouldn't be
possible
> on the harpsichords because the pitches had to be judged by ear,as opposed
to
> placing lute and viol frets).  Tuning ET without a specific plan would be
> more akin to solving a Rubik's cube puzzle when you had to turn out the
> lights and change the position of the cube every 5 seconds.  That doesn't
> sound simple to me!
>    Without a specific plan of action, I don't think the solution to either
of
> these two puzzles would be within the grasp of the overwhelming majority
of
> those attempting it.  So, when was the first indication that interval
tests
> such as the M3-m3 or the M3-6th were being employed?
> Regards,
> Ed Foote
>