Pure Temperament Laboratory Seminar vol.3
I haven't seen you for a while.
How is everything going?
Let's re-discover the heavenly beautiful sound of pure temperament chord like "Vienna boy's chorus" and spread the circle of "the natural food of sound" campaign!
Sorry for the absence last time. I think many of you probably read this page first time, so let's review and explain what is " pure temperament" again. This seminar was started with the provocative word as " Tuning of piano is wrong" It can express differently as "Piano is tuned wrong" What? You might think a piano tuning master will get angry with this word. Don't worry. All tuning master know very well such a matter. Their business consists in compete how well out of tune a piano.
A violinist set the tuning of a violin with his/her own ear by making sure of pure beautiful perfect 5th. In comparison, tuning of a piano, it is the same till tuning with his/her ear by making sure of pure beautiful perfect 5th, but the terrible work starts from this point. The perfect 5th of piano is imperfect. The tuning master re-adjusts to lower the perfect 5th slightly, that is adjustment of the swelling of discord as "beat" comes out. Why do they do so... in the conclusion, it is impossible to make simple 12 equal division of an octave if they didn't do so. There is a book titled "The secret of piano and the equal temperament" (the sound world of tuning master listens). The next paragraph is the foregoing remark of it.
The beginner of piano tuner must learn "setting up the adjustment" at first. That is to mean that they have to tune the regular intervals as perfect 5th, 4th, major 3rd in the center C area mainly. Each interval is adjusted out of tune slightly. In the equal temperament tuning system that has been used for past 150 years (piano was invented 250 years ago), what is the "rule" to adjust the degree of "the out of tune"? We don't have to tune for the other instrument in this way...
Two important matters are written in that paragraph. One is that a piano is tuned for out of tune and it is the equal temperament. Another important thing is the equal temperament has been used for only 150 years. Then, what kind of tuning system had been used for 100 years since piano was invented. It was never pure temperament. Mainly "midway temperament" method had being used. You can consider this as something between the pure temperament and the equal temperament. There is the decisive difference between the equal temperament and the midway temperament, though. That is a major 3rd (ie. The interval between "Do" and "Mi") "Mi" of the equal temperament happens the unpleasant swelling because it is too high. We can recognize the difference clearly with an open triad rather than a closed triad. The triad of the midway temperament is much close to the pure temperament. Now, let's compare listening to an open triad of the pure temperament and the equal temperament.
The pure temperament at first, then the equal temperament, it switches in two seconds each and repeats.
Comparison of pure temperament and equal temperament (.aiff/22KHz/185KB/0'10")
Comparison of pure temperament and equal temperament (.wav/22KHz/185KB/0'10")
How did you listen to it? You must recognize the difference clearly.
This is the really pure "Do, Mi, So" that follows the natural low. There are many so-called "natural music" following the planet low, music based on ebb and flow of tide, or flow of sap, but how should we consider those music is made of unnatural and artificial "equal temprament"....
The equal temperament has been civilized only for 150 years. That means all the first Roman composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Wagner, Brahms, Chaikovskii was not the equal temperament. Especially, Mozart said that he would kill anyone who plays his composition with the equal temperament.
Somebody would point out that there is "The well-tempered clavier" by J. S. Bach. Umm... he might be sharp.... But it is NOT. Bach never composed for the equal temperament. Just for the conclusion, Bach composed for the Werkmeister temperament, not for the equal temperament. I would explain it some other time in the future because this is going be too long.
Think about it. Pianists don't tune their instrument. Don't you think it's strange? They still say that my violin is out of tune!? when we play together. I would get angry with that personally....
I'm gong to tell you something you don't know. Before the equal temperament, pianists and composers had tuned their instrument by themselves. Therefore they can tune pretty well for their own taste.
The lecture is going to continue for the next time....
Recently, composer Tsutomu Tagashira, one of our lab member did wonderful work for the pure temperament. We can recognize the difference clearly with that horn sound. I would like to introduce it as a reference.
Pure Temperament Horn (.aiff/22KHz/869KB/0'40")
Equal Temperament Horn (.aiff/22KHz/873KB/0'40")
Pure Temperament Horn (.wav/22KHz/869KB/0'40")
Equal Temperament Horn (.wav/22KHz/873KB/0'40")
Good news for the DTM (Desk Top Music) lovers!
It is now possible to tune these synthesizers in various ways with the multi tuning. Our lab is developing the pure temperament system exclusive. Please e-mail us if you are interested in.
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