Re: adaptive tuning

Hi there,

Just to add my support for adaptive
tuning.

I can say that the adaptively retuned
C.P.E. Bach John did for me is wonderful to play
along with. The harmonies are so crisp and
clear.

I've also listened to it in quarter comma
meantone, and that is much nicer for this
particular music than, say, WIII, but it
is even clearer and nicer to play with
when adaptively tuned, and it is quite
striking for these pieces.

Might be an interesting idea to start
with a n-tet scale, and then adaptively
tune it - i.e. like usual adaptive tuning
but with horizontal springs grounding to
say 8-tet or 7-tet, and targetting
7 limit or 11 limit ratios (in case of
7-tet say).

Could also develop a scale like that -
the Chopi scale I've been trying out
is close to 7-tet but has some purer
fifths than 7-tet.

The idea of tempering an ET scale to get purer
ratios is pretty standard. I can't see why
there is any fuss at all about doing it
adaptively when it is already done as
a fixed pitch system.

I'm sure the only reason that the composers
of Bach's time didn't have adaptively
tuned keyboards is because it was impossible
without computers. The various split key
keyboards are the closest one can get to
adaptive tuning without computers.

I don't think anyone has done an example to show
how nice adaptively retuned keyboard is to play
with.

I could do so perhaps. However, my playing with
the adaptively retuned keyboard makes rather embarassing
listening at present even as an amateur performance (the
pure harmonies also really highlight any faults of
intonation), but with the feedback of listening to
the recording and then playing again,
maybe I'll get one decent enough to listen to.

Robert