Defects of Just Intonation?

Gregg Gibson wrote:
>When one knows nothing of the matter of tuning, the choice of a tuning
>appears purely arbitrary, but the more one learns of the principles that
>govern music ? all human music ? the more one realizes that, although
>there is incredible tuning variation within human music, there is also a
>very obvious and powerful tendency toward just intonation, or rather,
>toward some system that shall preserve the advantages of just
>intonation, while remedying its defects, and if possible even adding to
>its available melodico-harmonic resources, especially in conjunct music
>of very limited compass, where sheer dead-reckoning can be used to sing
>and understand intervals outside the realm of just intonation.

That's a really big sentence, Gregg!

What to you consider to be the defects of JI that must be remedied? The
only problem I have with just intonation is that most musical instruments
can't support it. I've always felt that JI itself is a perfect musical
system. What "defects" have I overlooked?

-b0b-
-----
quasar@wco.com (Bobby Lee)
http://wco.com/~quasar/


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