Ric writes:
> (the reality is that even with different tunings the >music still sounds
the same execpt for ocasional fleeting execptions).
This is directly in contradiction to what pianists and musicians are
telling me,(and others). It also doesn't explain why rooms full of
piano techs so often regard the WT piano as more in tune than the ET
one..........
> Which is the real reason ET has become the standard, the others
(temperaments) don't sound that much >different and for the musician 99% of
the time ET is better.
This isn't the case in practise. In my work, pianists, vocalists,
cello players(!) and others believe that other temperaments sound profoundly
different and 99% of them consider it a large improvement. However, an
incredible bass player here, (Edgar Meyer) and another violinist, are both in
the ET-only camp. Its good that I can tune all ways.
> Sure tunings other than ET can be proposed for some music but look
closely at the reasons. How many altermative proposals are historically
"correct"?
There are numerous proposals that are very explicit about their
intention. The Thomas Young for one. How correct does it need to be to
justify its trial, today?
>As far as known, none of the composers left instructions on how to tune the
the keyboard to play their >compositions.
Bach is on record(Kirnberger) for having said, "Tune all thirds sharp",
and his Wohl-Tempered Clavier is correctly translated as "Completely tempered
Clavier". Wohl translates as "totally", not "nicely". Both of these remarks
were satisfied by a well-temperament, and he did NOT say it was an
"Equally-Tempered Clavier" which he could have done. I think the word would
have been "Glieshweben"???? (My German is wayyyy primitive).
>If temperament was important as pedaling, phrasing, tempo, or ornaments, one
> thinks it (temperament) should have somehow been indicated.
Unless the practise of WT was so universial at the time as to be taken as
a given. To my knowledge, George Gershwin never said a word about
temperament, but we decide on an appropriate one by what the trade was doing
in his time. Why should the process be any different for Mozart?
> The argument that ET is only modern is history by omission. The concept
of ET goes all the way back to >the Ancient Greeks, Artisoxenes apparently.
The concept of flight also goes back some time, but we don't think the
Greeks were secretly soaring. Aristoxenus took issue with the Pythagoreans
over the issue of whether the intervals should be determined by numbers as
they thought, or by the actual sound. Aristoxenus promoted a 12 note scale
that contained 10 equal intervals and two large ones. I don't think we want
to continue calling him the "father of Et" for our purposes today.
>To be sure the ability to tune ET has been getting better and better, and
the effort to tune ET in the 18th >and 19th centuries cannot be denied and
certainly cannot be compared to another temperament as far as >effect on
music is concerned.
> In regards to "key color" look closely at that concept as a historical
reality. What is the evidence that >temperament has anything to do with
"key color". First of all define "key color", then show how it exists in
>history.
Key color is taken to refer to the amount of consonance or dissonance in
the intervals. It is a long standing linkage. Most all of the historical
writings inre temperament, (and there are quite a few well recognized
intellectuals involved) describe a series of differently sized intervals.
And what are we to make of the following?:
Of the 68 major piano compositions by Beethoven, I think there is one
each in F# , Db and B. There are 12 in G, 8 in C, 7 in Bb, 15 in Eb, etc.
In total, there are 44 pieces in keys with more consonance (in any plausible
WT of his era) than ET, so where did this bias come from? If you include Eb
(which is in the middle of the circle of fifths) then 57 of his piano
compositions are in keys that fall in the category of "same or better
consonance" than ET. Why??
A similar comparison of Schubert shows the same preponderance toward
the simpler keys. Mozart also has same bias toward the keys with fewer
accidentals. Why? if all the keys were tempered alike Bach then, then why
is there such a dearth of pieces in the keys farthest from C ? Seems that a
widespread use of ET would have been indicated by a more democratic
employment of the keys.
>Yes there are scattered references in the historical record but not like
anything you are lead to believe in >one modern book that seems to be the
only reference many of the piano tuner HT enthusiasts have >consulted.
Rita Steblin offers more than a "scattered reference" in her compilation
of theorists' remarks about the keys. Mark Lindley is also on record in
Groves inre the probability that WT provides positive resources for
Beethoven's work.
>And when taken to task to support generalizations by fact, the enthusiasts
then realize the tome they >espouse is lacking in that basic academic
standard, or reply in effect "don't confuse the issue with the >facts".
The documentation of the 18th century is far more factual in the
definition of how to tune WT than it is on how to tune ET. If we are to
strip away all but "fact", there is little beyond "theory" to suggest that ET
was in use, at all.
Montal's 1834 instructions (about the first ones that would actually
produce an ET if followed) were in a book "How to tune your own piano".
They are difficult,in that you are instructed to tune four min3rds so that
they are equally tempered, and then go from there. How close to ET do you
think that would get anybody? Even today, with the most accurate printed
instructions, the resulting ET of an amateur is going to be farther from ET
than a Broadwood's Victorian and the ordering of tempering(color) is
certainly going to be scrambled all over the circle of fifths.
> If one wants to believe and try to convince others that music has more
"color" in an HT than music in ET >that is OK, as long as everyone thinks
more color means more beautiful, appealing or whatever, but I think >"color"
in music from temperament comes out closer to meretricious, rather than
meritorious.
It isn't clear whether your use of "meretricious" is attempting to
describe the musical result of WT or the proponents of same. I haven't had
to convince musicians that there is more color in HT, I have only had to
convince them to try it, and then the results do the work on their own. (see
Jon Page's earlier comments)
I am seeing more and more new business from musicians and the calls all
start the same, " Mr. Foote? I recently played a piano at "......"'s house
and was told that you had tuned it in a different way. Could I have you come
over and tune mine, also?) Since I charge half again as much for a first
visit, this is a very profitable aspect to my tuning business and also
provides replacements for those people that pass on, leave, or find a cheaper
tech. It also assures me that I am working for people that are sensitive to
the sound of their instrument,(which paves the way for a regulation and
voicing!) The only risk involved is that I would have to return and retune
to ET, an occurance that is so rare as to be neglible.
My professional interest in the use of the temperaments is sustained
more by the money than an attempt to be meretricious. I think they sound
fine, also, but without customer demand, there would be little point in the
effort. This has been a central theme in my efforts to create classes that
will be of value to technicians, and I think there are many that have found a
new avenue for their professional efforts. It certainly can help undo the
effects of "burn-out" that a number of tuners have run into.
Those who believe "that even with different tunings, the music still
sounds the same execpt for ocasional fleeting execptions" may not have
grasped the finer nuances of tonality, and without faith that there is
something to all this, will have a difficult time selling these things. I
think that is their loss, but I am not going to tell them they are wrong.
It is becoming evident that having experience in a variety of temperaments
and knowing where to use them is giving technicians a competitive edge. With
that in mind, being in the Guild, and being on this list can be beneficial in
a variety of ways, since there ARE customers out there that are buying them.
The choice is there to be made.
Regards,
ED Foote RPT
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