source file: mills3.txt Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 02:47:40 +0100 Subject: re:Chestnut help From: A440A Gary writes: >1. Certainly pianos have been able to be tuned to equal temperament before any > 20th century technology was applied to it. It seems surprising that the > same nontechnological methodologies couldn't be applied to 17th-century > clavichords. Clavichords are so bebung-sensitive that their temperament had to be tuned for the individual that was playing it. The earliest set of instructions that will result in an acceptable equal temperament seem to have been written in 1830, and even then you have to be able to divide the octave into three ET maj3rds, and then on top of them, four equally tempered min3rds. Sorta tricky. Bill Garlick, my teacher, has done it, but it requires a real stretch to think that the average 17th century instrument builder or repairman would be in the same league. Without knowing how to accurately measure the width of a third, it would be very difficult to tune a 12TET on a strung keyboard instrument. The tests required are not found in any of the rather extensive literature before the mid to late 1800's. (According to Jorgensen, whom I have so far found to be fairly well documented.) Regards, Ed Foote Precision Piano Works Nashville, Tn. SMTPOriginator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu From: "Bob Lee" Subject: Steel Guitar Tuning PostedDate: 10-12-97 06:31:00 SendTo: CN=coul1358/OU=AT/O=EZH ReplyTo: tuning@eartha.mills.edu $MessageStorage: 0 $UpdatedBy: CN=notesrv2/OU=Server/O=EZH,CN=coul1358/OU=AT/O=EZH,CN=Manuel op de Coul/OU=AT/O=EZH RouteServers: CN=notesrv2/OU=Server/O=EZH,CN=notesrv1/OU=Server/O=EZH RouteTimes: 10-12-97 06:29:05-10-12-97 06:29:05,10-12-97 06:28:51-10-12-97 06:28:52 DeliveredDate: 10-12-97 06:28:52 Categories: $Revisions: Received: from ns.ezh.nl ([137.174.112.59]) by notesrv2.ezh.nl (Lotus SMTP MTA SMTP v4.6 (462.2 9-3-1997)) with SMTP id C1256569.001E1F42; Wed, 10 Dec 1997 06:29:01 +0100 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA11202; Wed, 10 Dec 1997 06:31:00 +0100 Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 06:31:00 +0100 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA11188 Received: (qmail 26377 invoked from network); 9 Dec 1997 21:30:56 -0800 Received: from localhost (HELO ella.mills.edu) (127.0.0.1) by localhost with SMTP; 9 Dec 1997 21:30:56 -0800 Message-Id: <01bd052c$2d73b6e0$4d379bce@default> Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu