Don A. Gilmore wrote: > I think alternate tunings are a proverbially elusive carrot on a stick. > If you are going to play polyphonic music, ET (with maybe a little > stretch > for inharmonicity) is the only practical solution. > ...But when you go tampering with ET, as everyone in this group knows, > there are two detrimental effects that take place. First of all, a note > means something different musically depending on its context. That is not necessarily a detrimental effect. > ...Secondly, even an ordinary major diatonic scale will sound different > in different keys. Again, this is not necessarily a detrimental effect. Uniformity of key signatures is not necessarily the ultimate goal of designing a musical scale. Classical composers, who were aware of the differences between key signatures in the un-equal temperaments of their day, often used those differences to make artistic statements. The choice of key signature was not merely based on which notes are easy to hit by the performers or in the range of the singers. Beethoven used a key signature with faster-beating thirds to create a sense of agitation and a different key signature with slower-beating thirds to create a sense of tranquility. Robert Scott Ypsilanti, Michigan
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