OFF (*was: neurology)

[Susan Kline]

At 02:12 PM 5/5/2002 -0400, Ed wrote:
>    Reason's for Chopin's choice of keys has been ascribed to both the extra
>brilliance found in the remote keys (In WT) helping his weak frame produce
>strength of sound, and also to the hand positions he preferred. This doesn't
>definitively explain why he wrote the way he did, though, so I don't
>know,either.

One little experience -- I went to Jim Coleman, Sr.'s class at a convention,
where he talked about his temperament using untempered fifths -- the one
which leads to very wide octaves. We had his usual comparison between that
equal but wide temperament and another piano which he had tuned. We were
fooled, as usual, and failed even to note that the second piano was tuned
in a very non-equal temperament, one of his own quite strong Wells. We only
twigged when he ran successive thirds for us.

Anyway, one of the pieces he played was a Chopin Prelude, and it sounded
really spicy and nice. Then he transposed it so that it was in a simpler
key, with the narrow thirds, etc. YUCK!!!! Bland, gutless, no strength
to the harmonic motion, it just SAT there. An eyeopener for me. Still,
it was better than meantone, with the bad fifths as well ... (Just My Opinion,
Folks ...) (Wearing Conrad's newest, best flamesuit.)

Susan