Temperaments...

[vinny samarco]

hi Ron,
Being a pianist as well as a tuning student, I really wish I could hear some
of these un-equal temperaments.  I have never been able to find recordings
with these
I mean, is it really true that different temperaments enhance for instance,
various harmonies in the romantic period?
Vinny
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ron Koval" <drwoodwind@hotmail.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2004 6:22 AM
Subject: Temperaments...


> This whole temperament thing is such a tiny niche of the world, even among
> tuners!  I went through all my years of study as a bassoonist, assuming
that
> ET was the norm, yet we trained for listening and adjusting to Just
> intervals. It wasn't until I really dug into the subject a few years ago
> that I realized that ET only exists in fixed pitch instruments, such as
the
> piano and organ.   So much of the discussion is framed by what we THINK is
> the norm, not what actually IS the norm.   Think about that a minute.  Not
> in orchestras, not in bands, not in choirs, not in ensembles, ONLY when
the
> piano is brought into the mix does ET enter the picture.
>
> It becomes so obvious when you think about the speed of the thirds that we
> work so hard to control on the piano.  Do you think that an
instrumentalist
> would change the speed of the beating of the third, based on where in the
> scale it lies?  How impossible would that be?!  I can just imagine:
"Let's
> see, I'm in the key of F, so the tonic should beat at 7bps, but the
dominant
> should beat at around 10 bps... but wait, that's only in one octave... oh,
I
> missed that measure, what's the next note?"
>
> That means, even though ET is accepted everywhere as the norm, it really
> occupies a very small corner of musical expression in the world.  Anyone
> that tries to introduce an alternate tuning runs into the brick wall of
> ignorance about the specifics of musical tuning.
>
> I feel that at this point, the best thing I can do is to speak directly to
> pianists about the existance of playable temperaments.  I hope to develop
an
> article to submit to the magazines that cater to pianists.  Something to
do
> with temperaments as just another way for them to add contrasts to the
> music.  So much of what we do already as techs give pianist greater
> contrasts, either through regulation, voicing, tuning, or rebuilding.
>
> Ron Koval
> Chicagoland
>
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