Keith,
The ears of people who have listened exclusively, or almost exclusively, to music in equal temperament throughout their lives have probably become accustomed to hearing music in equal temperament. Therefore, your point about some people hating anything but equal temperament does make sense. Therefore, key colour is likely to be unfavourable due to this reason.
However, quasi-equal temperaments that fall between well temperament and equal temperament could be desirable for any type of music. There is a thread by David Pinnegar called "
Improving piano tone through tuning and temperament", that nearly has 200 replies, in which he mentions that the "
shimmer noise" or the "
layer of gloss" of equal temperament should be reduced because his "
focus has been to identify temperament which reduces shimmer noise from the sound, allowing greater focus to the music and the harmony." There may be quasi-equal temperaments that can achieve this effectively.
Quasi-equal temperaments reduce key colour, which is beneficial for those that are accustomed to hearing music in equal temperament, and could also provide better harmony by reducing the "
shimmer noise" or the "
layer of gloss" of equal temperament that David has referred to in his thread.
In conclusion, if quasi-equal temperament is more harmonious than, and rather close to, equal temperament, it should replace equal temperament. Quasi-equal temperament should become the new standard tuning.
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Roshan Kakiya
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-12-2019 11:28
From: Keith Roberts
Subject: Harmony vs Key Colour
"Better Harmony"
All tuning is a compromise. Who is to say what compromise is the better? I know people who hate anything but equal temp. To them the harmony of well temps is horrid. Why not let people resonate to their own particular taste. After years of people listening to pop music in equal and the shift to electronically amped sound and now to the digital,, which loses so much of the actual sound as to make it sterile, most have been conditioned and aren't changing as they get older. Everybody resonates with different elements of the music.
Personally, I think people hear differently because their bodies are built differently. Just as Hemholtz used glass chambers to amplify different frequencies, the bone structure and cavities in the head and ears amplify sound that are individual to each and everyone of us.
Tuning needs to be for what makes the client happy, not what you think will make them happy. This is similar to the discussion on voicing for the bench or the audience.
Original Message------
How can better harmony not be beneficial for the sound of music?
How can key colour not be beneficial for the sound of music?
I think there are many discussions that focus on the potential benefits of better harmony and/or key colour. Therefore, I would like to be informed about the potential drawbacks of better harmony and/or key colour instead.
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Roshan Kakiya
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