source file: mills2.txt Date: Fri, 11 Jul 1997 23:58:20 +0200 Subject: Re: Historical temperaments From: Paul Hahn On Fri, 11 Jul 1997, Joseph Downing wrote: > Absolutely NOT! I know of no evidence that EQ was any more than a theory > occasionally espoused at that time. It is just TOO HARD to tune equal > temperament without either a LOT of training, or an electronic device. > > in Mozart's time various well-tempered systems were still in use. (For > references, somebody help me - the BIG red historic tuning book by the guy > from Michigan - can't recall name and title right now.) Anyhow, he gives > some tuning 'recipes' from the 18th century; they are NOT equal. I don't dispute the basic point that Mozart didn't use 12TET, but a couple of things: 1. The name you're trying for is Owen Jorgensen. It's a big area but let's just say that many scholars consider his arguments for the lateness of 12TET standardization weak. 2. If one cared to, one could find a lot of people on earlymus-l and hpschd-l who can tune passable ET without electronics--it might not be 1 cent accurate, but key color variation will be subtle to indetectable. One recommended technique bypasses the usual tuning by fifths and tempers the cycles of major and minor thirds, using fifths only as a final check. --pH http://library.wustl.edu/~manynote <*> O /\ "Foul? What the hell for?" -\-\-- o "Because you are chalking your cue with the 3-ball." Received: from ns.ezh.nl [137.174.112.59] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Sat, 12 Jul 1997 00:10 +0200 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA14603; Sat, 12 Jul 1997 00:10:32 +0200 Date: Sat, 12 Jul 1997 00:10:32 +0200 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA14625 Received: (qmail 9016 invoked from network); 11 Jul 1997 22:09:43 -0000 Received: from localhost (HELO ella.mills.edu) (127.0.0.1) by localhost with SMTP; 11 Jul 1997 22:09:43 -0000 Message-Id: Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu