source file: m1346.txt Date: Sat, 7 Mar 1998 05:33:47 EST Subject: Temperament lectures From: A440A Gordon writes: <My hope is to use these and I have come up with some figures using Owen >Jorgensen's text. >All suggestions welcome. Greetings, As one who has been wearing out grindstones on my nose with this, I have a suggestion. Simplify ! The glazed-eye factor goes up dramatically when you get more than two or three temperaments in the same place at the same time with the noviate audience. While these tunings are interesting, identifiable, and familiar to many tuners and theorists, exposure to this much complicated variety is going to submerge your listeners after two or three changes. I think it will set them a-floundering in a sea of unfamiliar contrasts, wild-eyed and crying for Cmaj to come take them home............. You may want to consider trying to illustrate Meantone, Well, and Equal Temp. as a historical progression, and then concentrate on the subsets of each as your audience grasps the concepts. Opening with some shock value is good. The wolves of 1/4 comma are always a big hit with audiences, I open the gates at my lectures by retuning two thirds in an octave. Audiences listen real hard while I turn the pins down, and by the time I near Just, the place is always real quiet. At that moment, I let them hear two just 3rds, and then the wolf. This always gets a big laugh, which is a signal that some emotional connection is taking place. There is no question that the unexpected dissonance has an effect, and given the perishable nature of a listeners attention, you want to create this emotional link between the audience and tempering as quickly as possible. Once forged, you must take care not to go too fast or it will break. It is like catching 50 lb. fish with 6 lb. line. After recognizing the wolf, and with everyone usually feeling astute, acute, and sensitized, you can delve into the graduations of tempering that was such an art form of the well-tempered era. I really like the Prinz,(which is why we used it on the temperament CD), as it has good contrast, and nobody gets hurt worse than a comma. You will be doing well if you can get them to grasp the concept of unequal tonality and actually hear it well enough to appreciate what it is doing to the music. Owen has several lectures and the pieces to go with them. You may want to write to him. Good luck, I would be really interested in how it goes. Regards, Ed Foote