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TuningandTemperament
A(very)abbreviatedhistoryof
tuningtheory,550BCE2006CE
ByPaulGuyPaulGuy19992006

Pythagoras
TheHarmonists
JustIntonation
MeantoneIntonation
WellTemper
TheWellTemperedClavier
FrettedInstruments
EqualTemperament

TheHarmonicSeries
Alltuningisultimatelybasedontheharmonicseries,whicharises
fromthephysicalbehaviourofvibratingstrings.Avibratingstring
producesawholespectrumofrelatedfrequencies.(SeeFig.1.)
Thefundamental,orfirstharmonic,isthefrequencyatwhichthe
overallspeakinglengthofastringvibrates.Theovertonesarethe
frequenciesofthestringshighervibrationalmodesthesecond
harmonic(oneoctaveabovethefundamental)isproducedbya
patternoftwoseparatelyvibratingloops,eachonehalfofthe
speakinglength.Thethirdharmonic(anoctaveandafifthabove
thefundamental)isproducedbyapatternofthreeloops,each
onethirdofthespeakinglength.Thefourthharmonic(twooctaves
abovethefundamental)isproducedbyfourloopseachone
quarterofthespeakinglengthandthefifthharmonic(twooctaves
andamajorthird)byfiveloopseachonefifthofthespaeking
length,andthesixthharmonic(twooctavesandafifth)bysix
loops...andsoon.Guitaristsarefamiliarwiththesefractionsofthe
stringlengthasthelocationsofnaturalharmonics.Thisconceptis
vitaltotheunderstandingofwhywetunemusicalinstrumentsthe
waywedo.

Fig.1:Theharmonicseries

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Pythagoras
Noothersinglefigureinwrittenhistoryhashadmoreinfluenceon
thetuningofmusicalinstrumentsthanPythagoras,theancient
Greekmathematician,philosopher,andmystic,knowntoevery
schoolchildforhistheorem"inarightangledtriangle,thesquare
onthehypotenuseisequaltothesumofthesquaresontheother
twosides".
Imagesofchildhoodgeometrylessonsnotwithstanding,
Pythagoraswasnodusty,boringacademichewasaflamboyant,
charismaticsage,whodressedinwhiterobesandworeagold
coronet.Oneofthegreatgeniusesofantiquity,Pythagoraswas
bornontheGreekislandofSamosinabout580BCE.Leaving
Samosatage18,hestudiedinEgyptfor22yearsandinBabylon
forafurther12years,collectingtheaccumulatedmathematical
knowledgeoftheseancientlands,andbecominginitiatedintothe
mysteryreligionsoftheirpeoples.(Hevisitedmanyothercountries
alongthewaysomeclaimheeventravelledasfarasIndia.)
WhenhefinallyreturnedtoSamos,burningwithenthusiasmto
foundacentreoflearning,hefoundthatithadbecomeanarrow
minded,intolerantsocietywithnoplaceforhisnewfangledideas.
Hewasofferedaplaceatcourt,butasherealisedthatthiswas
justaploytokeephimquiet,heelectedinsteadtoliveinacavein
anisolatedpartoftheisland.
PythagoraswasultimatelyforcedtofleeSamoswithhismother
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andhissolestudentandsettledinCrotona,aGreekcolonyin
southernItaly,inabout530BCE,where(atage56)hefoundeda
philosophical,religious,andpoliticalsocietycalled"The
PythagoreanBrotherhood",whichwastohaveaprofound
influenceonSocrates,Platoandotherlater"thinkers".Pythagoras
isoftencalledthe"founder"ofphilosophy,inthatheissaidto
havecoinedtheveryterm"philosopher",whenaskedtodescribe
himself.Itmeans,roughly,"loverofwisdom".
Hetaughtthattheearthwasarotatingsphere,orbitingthe"central
fire"ofthesunincompanywiththesixother(thenknown)planets.
Hebelievedthattheorbitingplanetseachproducedadifferent
musicalnote,andthattheratiosoftheplanets'orbitaldistances
definedthepitches.Theresultingchordmadea"Musicofthe
Spheres"tooetherealforuninitiatedhumanearstohear.
Pythagorasclaimedtobeabletohearthismusic,andwouldsing
thetunestohisdisciples!
Pythagorasleftnowritingsofhisownallthatisknownofhis
teachingscomesfromhisfollowers.Hewasmurdered,somesay
ontheordersofapiquedpotentatewhohadbeenrefusedentryto
theBrotherhood,inabout500BCE.

ThePythagoreanscale
Pythagoras'enquiringmindledhimtoinvestigatethephysical
propertiesofvibratingstrings.Thelyresandkitharas(lapharps)of
ancientGreecehadfourstringsuntilaround650BCE,when
accordingtolegendthemusicianandpoetTerpander,the
"FatherofGreekmusic"issaidtohaveimprovedthemby
increasingthenumberofstringsto7.
AboutacenturyafterthatPythagorasfirstputtuningona(quasi)
scientificbasisbydiscoveringtheratiosofthefirstthreeovertones
oftheharmonicseries:
Octave=2/1
Fifth=3/2
Fourth=4/3
(Clickhere:Pythagoras:MusicandSpaceforanexcellent
interactivedemowithsound.)
Pythagorasandhisfollowersregardedthis123seriesasholy
theancientGreekphilosopherswerefascinatedbynumbers,
believingthatcertainnumbers,andtherelationshipsbetween
thosenumbers,haddivinesignificance.
ThePythagoreanscalewasthusconstructedusingonlyoctaves,
perfectfifthsandperfectfourths.
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Aperfectfifth(3/2)plusaperfectfourth(4/3)
=(3x4)/(2x3)=2,anoctave.
IfC=1,c(octave)=2,then:
F=FourthupfromC=4/3
(Sameasfifthdownfromc.)
G=FifthupfromC=3/2
D=FourthdownfromG=3/2x3/4=9/8
(SameasupafifthtoD(nextoctave),downanoctave.)
A=FifthupfromD=9/8x3/2=27/16
E=FourthdownfromA=27/16x3/4=81/64
B=FifthupfromE=81/64x3/2=243/128
ThisgivesusthePythagoreandiatonicscale:
C=1D=9/8E=81/64F=4/3G=3/2A=27/16B=243/128c=2/1.
(Notethatallthenumbersintheseratiosaredivisibleeitherby3
orby2.)
Pythagorashimselfrealisedthatthissystemhadproblems,as
twelvepurefifthswillnotfitintosevenoctaves:
7octaves=(2/1)^7=128
12fifths=(3/2)^12=129.74
Thisdiscrepancyisknownasthe"PythagoreanComma",andtwo
millenniaafterPythagoras'deathmathematicans,philosophers,
churchmenandacademicswerestillarguingaboutthebestwayto
dividethecommaintotheotherintervalsinthescale...
ThePythagoreanthird,81/64,isverysharptothepurethird,5/4.
Thedifferenceiscalledthe"SyntonicComma",andagainhas
beenthesourceofmuchargumentthroughthecenturies.Butthe
Pythagoreansheldthattheholypurityofthenumberswas
paramount,notthejudgementofthehumanear.Besides,they
didn'tusethethirdmuch,ifatall.
Backtotop

TheHarmonists
TheGreekscholarsknownastheHarmonistsfollowedin
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Pythagoras'footstepsthroughthecenturies.ThenextgreatGreek
inthetuningdebatewasAristoxenus(around450BCE),whoheld
thatthejudgementoftheearwithregardtointervalswassuperior
toarbitrarymathematicalratios.(Asoneofhisscaleswas
composedofequaltonesandequalhalvesoftones,some16th
centurytheoriststookthistomeanthathehadinventedequal
temperament.)
ClaudiusPtolemy(thegeographer),wholivedinthe2ndcentury
CE,documentedabewilderingvarietyofstrangelynamedscales,
asadvocatedbyPythagoras,Aristoxenus,Eratosthenes,
Archytas,andDidymus.Andofcoursehehadhisownsetof
scalestoooneofthese,his"syntonicdiatonic",coincideswiththe
latersystemofJustintonation(basedonthefirstfiveintervalsof
theharmonicseriesoctave,fifth,fourth,majorthird,minorthird)
andheisthussometimescreditedastheinventorofthatsystem.
Ptolemy'spositionwasthatthebesttuningisthatforwhichear
andratioareinagreement(hetookitforgrantedthatagreement
waspossible...).Atthesametimehemaintainedthatatuningwas
correctonlyifitused"superparticularratios",wherethefractional
numeratorexceedsthedenominatorby1i.e.2/1,3/2,4/3,5/4,
6/5,9/8,10/9,16/15,etc.
FromamodernscientificviewpointmostoftheseGreek
gentlemenseemtohavebeenmoreconcernedwithnumerology
andmysticismthanwithmusicalharmony.Nonetheless,
PythagoreanandPtolemaictuningheldswaywellintothe13th
and14thcenturies.AtthattimetheFrenchAcademieatNotre
Damestillheldthatonlyperfectfifthscouldbeusedtoconstructa
scalethe3initsratio3/2representedtheHolyTrinityandwas
thussacrosanct.
Backtotop

JustIntonation
Theoristshadlongpostulatedthatmusicalconsonancewasthe
productofsimplewholenumberratios.Justintonationisbasedon
thefirstfiveintervalsoftheharmonicseriesoctave,fifth,fourth,
majorthirdandminorthird.
Note

Ratio

1/1 9/8

Cents 0

5/4

4/3

3/2

5/3

15/8

2/1

204 386 498 702 884 1088 1200

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C,FandGmajortriadssoundwonderfulinthistuning,asallthe
ratiosarepure.ButlookwhathappenswhenweplayaDmajor
triad:
Note

4/3

3/2 5/3

RatiotoC 1/1

9/8 5/4

RatiotoD 8/9

1/1 10/9 32/27 4/3 40/27 5/3

Cents

204 0

182 294

498 680

15/8 2/1
16/9

884 996

TheDtoAfifthintervalisnowonly680centswide,andthat22
centdifferencetopurereallymakesithowl.Nowonderitwas
knownasthe"Wolf"fifth.
Thisisthefullchromaticjustscale,whichincorporatesPtolemy's
"superparticularratios"mentionedabove:
Note Interval
C
root
minorsecond
second
D
majorsecond
minorthird
E
majorthird
F
fourth
G
fifth
minorsixth
A
majorsixth
B
seventh
c
octave

Ratio
1
15/16
9/10
8/9
5/6
4/5
3/4
2/3
5/8
3/5
8/15
1/2

(Decimal) Freq.x
1.000
1.000
(0.9375) 1.066
(0.9)
1.112
(0.889) 1.125
(0.833) 1.200
(0.8)
1.250
(0.75)
1.333
(0.667) 1.500
(0.625) 1.600
(0.6)
1.666
(0.533) 1.875
(0.5)
2.000

ThisworksjustbeautifullyforC,FandGmajortriadsbutthe
momentyouplayaDorstrayintokeyslikeAb,E,orF#majorit
soundslikenothingonearth.
JustIntonationNetwork
Backtotop

MeantoneIntonation
Justintonationmaywellhavesatisfiedthesuperstitionsofthe
church,butmoreadventurouscomposersbecamefrustratedby
therestrictionsitimposedonharmonyandmodulation.Bythe
15thcenturymusicianshadbegunlookingforwaysto"temper"
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theirinstrumentstoallowuseofagreaternumberofintervals.
OneofthetruepioneersinthehistoryoftemperamentwasPietro
Aron,whodescribedthemeantonetemperamentin1523.
Meantoneintonationisbasedonthephilosophythatwayoutof
tunethirdsaremoreunpleasantthanslightlyoutoftunefifths,so
itsacrificessomeofthepurityofthefifthstobringthethirdsinto
line.
Meantonebroughteightofthethirdsintolinebeautifully,butthe
remainingfourDbF,F#A#,AbCandBD#sounded
awfulat427cents(thepuremajorthirdis386cents).Italsohad
thebaneofthe"WolfFifth"allitsfifthintervalsarearound696.6
cents,aprettygoodapproximationoftheideal702centsfigure
exceptfortheoneblacksheep,theAbEbinterval,whichat
737.7centswaslikenedtothesoundofawolfhowling,andwasto
beavoidedatallcosts.
Meantonerestrictedcomposerstoalimitedselectionofkey
signatures.Itgavesweetthirdsandfifthsinkeysignaturesclose
toC,butthe"distant"keyswerewayoutoftune.Itiscalled
meantonebecauseittakestheaverage,or"mean",onwhereto
placecertainpitches.IfCandEaretunedasaperfectmajorthird
of386cents,Dshouldbetunedat204cents(9/8)forthekeyofC,
butat182cents(10/9)forthekeyofD.Tunedat193,Disrightin
themiddle193isthemeanbetween182and204.
Meantoneusesasystemof"superscripts"toindicatetheamount
eachnoteinthescaleistempered.Thisisexpressedinfractions
ofacommathe"PythagoreanComma"mentionedabove.
InthisnotationthePythagoreanscaleandthediatonicquarter
commascale(socalledbecauseittempersthefifthbyaquarterof
acomma)looklikethis:
Pythagorean C0 D0
Meantone

E0 F0

G0

A0

B0

C0

C0 D1/2 E1 F+1/4 G1/4 A3/4 B5/4 C0

Complete1/4commameantonescale

(PietroAron"ToscanelloinMusica",Venice,1523).
Aron'sschemewasrefinedbyamyriadofmusicaltheoristsandscholars
inthefollowingcenturies.Therearecountlessdifferentvarietiesof
Meantoneintonation,withthecommadividedamongtherestofthe
intervalsinevermoreesotericways,butallfollowthesamebasic
philosophy.
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Despiteitsdrawbacks,meantonewasthedominantEuropeankeyboard
tuningsystemforover400years,fromitsintroductioninthelate15th
centuryuntilwellintothe19thcentury.
Backtotop

Welltemper
WerkmeisterKirnbergerThomasYoung
WelltemperwasafurtherdevelopmentofMeantoneintonation,designed
toallowuseofallthekeysignatures.ItwaspioneeredbyAndreas
Werckmeister(16451706),amongothers,inthelate17thcentury.
"WellTemper"tamedthewolf,butleftvaryingdegreesof"outof
tuneness"inthemoredistantkeys.Thisgaverisetotheconceptof"key
colour"asdifferentkeysareoutoftuneindifferingamounts,andin
differentplaces,theyhavedifferentcharacters.
(Formoreon"keycolour",clickhere.)
OpponentsofequaltemperarguethatmuchislostwhenBachorMozart
isperformedinequaltemperament,asthesecomposerswerewell
acquaintedwiththedifferent"keycolours",andusedthemdeliberately
foreffect."PlayingBach'sWellTemperedClavierintoday'sequal
temperamentislikeexhibitingRembrandtpaintingswithwaxpaper
tapedoverthem",inthewordsofonescholar.Mozart'smusicalsogains
anotherdimensionwhenplayedinitsoriginaltemperament.
(Equaltemperamenthasno"keycolours".Asallitsintervalsareequal,
theblendofintervalsisthesameineverykey,soallkeyssoundalike.
"Keycolour"isafeatureofirregulartemperamentslikeMeantoneand
WellTemper.)
Welltemperandequaltemperarenotthesamething.ItistruethatWell
Temperwasoftencalledequaltemperwhenitfirstcameintovoguebut
thiswasnotbecauseallitsintervalswereequal,butbecauseitmadeitall
keysequallyusable.Eachkey,however,hadaslightlydifferent
character:Bachwrote"TheWellTemperedClavier"inall24key
signaturestoexploitthosedifferences,notbecausetherewereno
differences.
ItisdocumentedthatbothBachandWerckmeisterwereopposedtothe
rigidmathematicaltreatmentimpliedbytheterm"gleichschwebende"
whichtranslatesliterallyas"likebeating"."Likebeating"impliesthat
parallelintervalsbeatequallyinallkeyswhichisonlytrueofequal
temper.
Welltemperamentwasakindofhalfwayhousebetweenmeantoneand
ourmodernequaltemperamentandcameinmanyflavours.Well
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temperamenthasbeenresearchedbymanymusictheoristsandthereare
manydifferentschemes.Somekeyboardtunersusedifferentschemes
dependingonwhatmusicwillbeplayedontheinstrument(orcustomer
preference).Hereforexamplearethreeofthemostwidelyaccepted
welltemperedschemes,comparedtotheequaltemperedscale,withthe
differencestabulatedincents:
Note

A #/b B C

EqualTemperament 0 0

#/b D #/b E F

#/b G #/b

Werkmeisterlll

0 +8 +4 +12 +2 +4 +6 +2 +10 0

+8 +4

Kirnbergerlll

0 +6 2 +10 +1 +3 +4 3 +8 +1 +7 +2

Vallotti&Young

0 +6 4 +6 0

+2 +4 2 +8 2 +4 +2

Backtotop

TheWellTemperedClavier
Themostfamous"WellTemper"ofalltimeisofcourseJohann
SebastianBach's"DasWohltemperirteClavier"(TheWellTempered
Clavier)twosetsofpreludesandfuguesforkeyboard,eachset
consistingof24preludesand24fuguesinallthemajorandminorkeys,
thefirstsetdatingfrom1722,andthesecondfrom1744.Theexact
temperamentthatBachactuallyusedhasbeenaboneofcontention
amongmusicologistsforover250years.ThisistheDaVinciCodeand
theHolyGrailofthetemperamentjungle.
AccordingtohissonC.P.E.Bach,J.S.Bachalwaysinsistedontuninghis
instrumentshimself,anditnevertookhimmorethan15minutes.
AsCPEwrotetoForkelforthebiographyofJSB,
"Theexacttuningofhisinstrumentsaswellasofthewholeorchestrahad
hisgreatestattention.Noonecouldtuneandquillhisinstrumentsto
pleasehim.Hedideverythinghimself."(1774,NewBachReader,#394)
Forkelthenpresenteditthus:
"Nobodycouldinstallthequillplectrumsofhisharpsichordtohis
satisfactionhealwaysdidithimself.Healsotunedbothhisharpsichord
andhisclavichordhimself,andwassopractisedintheoperationthatit
nevercosthimaboveaquarterofanhour.Butthen,whenheplayedfrom
hisfancy,allthe24keyswereinhispowerhedidwiththemwhathe
pleased.Heconnectedthemostremoteaseasilyandasnaturallytogether
asthenearestthehearerbelievedhehadonlymodulatedwithinthe
compassofasinglekey.Heknewnothingofharshnessinmodulation
evenhistransitionsinthechromaticstylewereassoftandflowingasif
hehadwhollyconfinedhimselftothediatonicscale.HisChromatic
Fantasy,whichisnowpublished,mayprovewhatIherestate.Allhis
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extemporefantasiesaresaidtohavebeenofasimilardescription,but
frequentlyevenmuchmorefree,brilliant,andexpressive."(1802,New
BachReader,p436.EnglishtranslationbyKollmann,1820.)
(CPEBachandForkelquotesborrowedfromwww.larips.com,with
thanks.)
UnfortunatelyneitherBachnorhissonseversawfittowritedown
explicitinstructionsonhowtotunethistemperament,andithasthus
sadlybeenlosttousforalmost250years.However,accordingtoDr.
BradleyLehman,A.Mus.D.(harpsichord),ofGoshenCollege,Indiana,
thekeytothemysteryhasbeenhiddeninplainsightsince1722in
Bach'sownhand,onthetitlepageoftheoriginalmanuscriptof"Das
WohltemperirteClavier".Dr.Lehman'sintimateknowledgeofBach's
music,andextensivehandsonexperienceofharpsichordtuning,enabled
himtocrackthecodeatlast.
HisbreakthroughcameinApril2004andismakinghugewaves
internationallyintheworldoftheharpsichordandthepipeorgan.A
numberofnewlybuiltpipeorgansusingLehman's"New"Bach
Temperamenthavealreadybeeninstalledinmusiccollegesandchurches
byoneofAmerica'sleadingorganbuilders,andworkisinhandonmore
instruments.Anewlybuilt"Bach/Lehman"organwasrecentlydedicated
inLaajasaloChurchinHelsinki,Finland.Harpsichordconcertsinthis
temperamentarebeingperformedaroundtheworld.
Forfurtherinformation,see:
Dr.Lehman'sfascinatingwebsite.
Backtotop

FrettedInstruments
Thereislittlequestionbutthatthemajorityoffrettedinstrumentmakers
andplayershadadoptedequaltemperamentorasclosean
approximationtoitastheycouldachievebythe16thcentury.Nicola
Vicentinowrotein1555aboutthedifficultiesarisingfromtheparallel
usageoftwosystemsmeantoneforkeyboardinstruments,andequal
temperamentforthefrettedinstruments.("L'anticamusicaridottaalla
modernaprattica",Rome,1555.)Orchestrasoftheperiodbecamequite
large,tocompensateforthefactthattheirdifferentsectionscouldnotall
playatthesametime.
AlongsidePietroAron,twoothermajorcontributorstothetempering
revolutionofthe16thcenturywereGioseffoZarlinoandFrancisco
Salinas.WhilebothZarlinoandSalinaspropoundedsimilarirregular
tuningsforkeyboards,bothmenalsorecognisedthenecessityforequal
temperamentonfrettedinstruments.IndeedSalinas,ablindprofessorof
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musicinNaples,gavethefirstprecisemathematicaldefinitionofequal
temperamentwhenin1577hewrote:
"Wejudgethisonethingmustbeobservedbymakersofviols,sothatthe
placingofthefretsmaybemaderegular,namelythattheoctavemustbe
dividedintotwelveequalpartsequallyproportional,whichtwelvewill
betheequalsemitones."(DemusicalibriVIII,Salamanca,1577.)

VincenzoGalilei
Beforethe16thcentury,verylittlewasknownaboutthegenerationand
transmissionofsound.Thefirstscientificallyvalidexperimentswere
madebyVincenzoGalilei(15201591),aprofessionalmusician,
lutenist,composer,theorist,andteacherandfatherofGalileoGalilei
(15641642).UsingmuchthesamemethodologyasPythagoras
(suspendingweightsfromstrings),hegathereddatawhichenabledhim
toestablishtherelationshipbetweenpitchandfrequency,andstatethe
lawsofharmonyanddissonance,essentiallyastheyareunderstood
today.Healsodemonstratedthatthenaturalfrequencyofavibrating
stringisdependentonitslength,weight,andtension.
Musicianshadundoubtedlybecomequiteskilledintheartofadjusting
theirfrets(whichininstrumentsofthetimeusuallyconsistedoflengths
ofgut,tiedaroundtheneck)bytrialanderror,orbysimplegeometrical
methods.Butthefirstappearanceinwritingofapracticalapproximation
forplacingfretsinequaltemperamentthe18:17ratio,or"Ruleof18"
wasgivenbyVincenzoGalileiinhis"Dialogodellamusicaanticae
moderna",publishedinFlorencein1581.
Galileiexplainedtheneedforequalsemitoneslogicallyandcorrectly
sincethefretsareplacedstraightacrossthesixstrings,theorderof
diatonicandchromaticsemitonesisthesameonallstrings.Inchords,
therefore,aC#mightbesoundedononestring,andaDbonanother
thiswillbeaveryfalseoctaveunlesstheinstrumentisinequal
temperament.

TheRuleof18
The"Ruleof18"putsthefirstfretat1/18thofthedistancefromthenut
tothebridge,thesecondfretat1/18thofthedistancefromthefirstfretto
thebridge,andsoon.Thissystemmadeitsimpletomarkoutafretscale
onapieceofwoodusingjustarulerandacompass,anditremainedthe
basisofpracticalfretboardconstructionforover300years.
TheRuleof18results(theoretically)inintervalsof99cents:
Notes E F

F#

Ab A

Bb B

C# D

Eb

Cents 0 99 198 297 396 495 594 693 792 891 990 1089 1188
Thisalmostcertainlygaveacceptableintonationwiththenaturalgut
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stringsoftheperiod,whichwerefarmoreelasticthanmoderndaysteel
ornylonstrings.Theinstrumentsofthedayseldomhadmorethan8or9
fretstothebody,soaminoradjustmenttothestringlengthatthebridge
wouldsufficetotameanytendencyto"outoftuneness"uptheneck.
Backtotop

Equaltemperament
Theemergingtechnologyofthe1800'shadaprofoundimpacton
keyboardtuning.Theissuewasforcedbyadvancesinpianodesign.In
thesearchformorepower,hightension,castironframedpianos,using
newlydeveloped,muchstrongerwire,cameintouse.Asthetension
increased,sodidthenumberofaudibleovertones.Dissonancesthat
couldbetoleratedonthemuchmorelightlystrungharpsichordsand
fortepianosbecameunbearableonthenewhightensioninstruments.
MusiciansandcomposerstheRomanticsinparticularwanteda
temperamentthatwouldletthemmodulatefreelywithoutencountering
thewolf.Thefirstpianostobetunedtoequaltemperamentwere
producedbyBroadwoodsinthemiddleofthe19thcentury.
The19thcenturywasatimeoftremendousadvancesinmaterials
technologyandengineering.Sciencewasbecomingsynonymouswith
progressinallwalksoflife,andmusicalinstrumentdesignwasnot
immunetoitsinroads.The"mathematicallycorrect"equaltemperament
heldgreatappealinthisatmosphereoftrustinscience,particularlysince
vastimprovementsintheaccuracyandsophisticationofmachinetools
weremakingitpossibletomassproducemusicalinstrumentstoadegree
ofprecisionundreamedofafewgenerationsearlier.
Equaltemperamentistheultimatecompromise.Tonalpurityissacrificed
forfreedomofmodulation.Dependingonyourviewpoint,equal
temperamenteithera)makeseverykeyequallyintune,orb)makes
everykeyequallyoutoftune...Theideaistomakeitpossibletoplayall
intervalsandchords,inallkeys,withthesamerelativeaccuracy.
Althougheverykeyisveryslightlyoutoftune,everykeyisalsouseable.
Nokeysoundsworsethananyotherkey.Thesameappliestoallchords.

Thefinalcountdown
Thekeytotheequaltemperedscaleisthenumber1.0594631,thetwelfth
rootoftwo.Thisnumberhasabunchoftricksupitssleeve!Ifyou
multiplyonebyittwelvetimesyougettwo(andifyoudividetwobyit
twelvetimesyougetone...).

1x1.0594631=1.0594631

1.0594631x1.0594631=1.1224621

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1.1224621x1.0594631=1.1892071

1.1892071x1.0594631=1.2599211

1.2599211x1.0594631=1.3348399

1.3348399x1.0594631=1.4142136

1.4142136x1.0594631=1.4983071

1.4983071x1.0594631=1.5874011

1.5874011x1.0594631=1.6817929

1.6817929x1.0594631=1.7817975

1.7817975x1.0594631=1.8877487

1.8877487x1.0594631=2.0000001

Therighthandcolumnoffiguresdefinesthesemitonesoftheequal
temperedscale,whichgivesus12semitonesof100centseachandthus
anoctaveofexactly1200cents.TheoldRuleof18wasnotsofaroff
extrapolationofthetwelfthrootoftworatiogivesusadivisorof
17.817152.
Theequaltemperedfifthisfairly"sweet"at700centscomparedtothe
justfifthat702cents,andtheequaltemperedfourthworkswellat500
centscomparedto498centsforthejustfourthbutthirds,sixthsand
seventhsfarelesswell.Thirdsareespeciallytroublesome,astheequal
temperedminorthirdis16centsflattothejustminorthird,andthe
equaltemperedmajorthirdis14centssharpofjust.Theequaltempered
majorsixthis16centssharpofjust,andtheequaltemperedmajor
seventhis12centssharpofjust.Theonlyintervalwhichisidenticalin
thetwoscalesistheoctave.
PaulGuy19992006
Backtotop

Links:
Tuningtheguitar
Historicaltuningsonthemodernconcertgrand
TheWellTemperedPiano
Anintroductiontohistoricaltunings
JohannSebastianBach'stuning
JustIntonationNetwork
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