Davcid writes: << The problem with these types of explanations is that they ignore the data. In reaching a conclusion you first have to look at the data and what that tells you. After that you look at factors which might mitigate against your conclusion. The data suggest that people who are presumed savvy about issues such as temperament are not choosing them.<< My data is primarily from usage today. I don't presume any artist is savvy about temperament because I have never found one that is. I think the majority of them are totally in the dark about the history of intonation since 1700 and will remain so until the actually hear the difference. I have repeatedly been told by pianists freshly introduced to WT that nobody has ever brought the subject up! >>When you stick to your conclusion (really your opening premise) in spite of the data then it suggests a bias. You're really starting with a conclusion and then looking for reasons to support it rather than collecting the data and reaching a conclusion based on what you find. >> My opening premise in my career was that the more equal the temperament, the better. After becoming familiar with alternatives and offering them to pianists, I was profoundly amazed at the positive reaction I was getting for these "weird" tunings Jorgensen proposed. I was also amazed at how attracted pianists I have tuned these for were. If I say nothing and let the tuning speak for itself, the response has been overwhelmingly positive about 94% of the time. I have now come to a different conclusion; that for the majority of listeners in blind comparisons, the ET pianos sound harsh and somehow out of tune when up against at mild WT. regards, Ed Foote RPT http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
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