Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: 7 Valve Tuba


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Posted by M. M. Carrasco on January 25, 2001 at 21:22:41:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: 7 Valve Tuba posted by Rick Denney on January 25, 2001 at 10:42:26:

>And even a piano is not REALLY tuned to the equal temperament used by my synthesizer. It is tuned >to a compromise temperament that is a bit better for the more common keys and not quite as good >for the less common keys. That's why the best piano tuners don't use electronic tuners. I have a >book that's four inches thick describing all the different tuning systems used in the last four >centuries, and equal temperament is just one of them. That's why there is no such thing as >"perfect" intonation--nobody can define "perfect" in terms of unchangeable notes.

Rick, If I may comment as a former organ and piano tuner. By definition, equal temperment would consist of every key being equally OUT OF TUNE. You're quite right about there being thick books about hundreds of new and historic temperments. Actually many temperments such as Valloti, Kirnberger III or Werckmeister have certain keys that are nearly pure and sound lovely! The problem is that the bad keys are, well just that- "wolfs" they're called. In my experience, good tuners use a tuning fork and set the temper based on one note, usually A= 440.0 . Most piano tuners have a chromatic set of forks. With improved technology nowadays, most organ tuners set the tenor octave with a tuner and then temper that octave by ear and transfer the temperment to the rest of the compass. By ear, because a good tuner has better pitch than any electronic device! Precise mathematical formulas can produce elegant temperments (like Pythagoean) but our human ears don't like them!

Moises


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