Re: [tuning] Digest Number 2709

Lou Harrison told me he had a source that said Chopin tuned his own piano. in 612 ET. no just kidding,
No, to meantone which if you especially look at his starting points makes sense.

tuning@yahoogroups.com wrote:

>
> Message: 8
> Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 14:35:47 -0000
> From: "alternativetuning" <alternativetuning@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: piano tuning practiceI should be pleased if somebody would be so...
>
> --- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Afmmjr@a... wrote:
>
> >
> > While I am not a pianist, I have had the opportunity to notice that
> the
> > players "never" tune for themselves (which is odd it itself to
> me).
>
> In Hungary, Many pianists will fine tune their pianos. I know one
> american, Cecil Lytle, professor in san Diego, tunes for himself.
>
> Gabor
>

-- -Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
http://www.anaphoria.com
The Wandering Medicine Show
KXLU 88.9 FM WED 8-9PM PST

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, kraig grady <kraiggrady@a...> wrote:
> Lou Harrison told me he had a source that said Chopin tuned his own piano. in
612 ET. no just kidding,
> No, to meantone which if you especially look at his starting points makes
>sense.

Hmm...It seems that it would have to be something like 1/8 comma at least, no?

I mean, the Barcarolle is in F-sharp major. 1/4 comma meantone would make that
sound like total shit! Chopin is so harmonically adventurous, too, well beyond the
constraints of 5-limit triadic writing. Historically, it doesn't ring true either. He would
most likely be using any of the post-Bach well-temperaments if he were anything
like his contemporaries!

I find this anecdote hard to believe. You surely doon't mean 1/4 comma meantone
anyway...Can you follow up with more?

All the Best,
Aaron.

hi kraig,

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, kraig grady <kraiggrady@a...> wrote:

> Lou Harrison told me he had a source that said Chopin tuned
> his own piano. in 612 ET. no just kidding, No, to meantone
> which if you especially look at his starting points makes sense.

i really wish i had a chance to talk to Lou about that before
he died. i've seen some arguments that Chopin tuned his piano
in a well-temperament.

like Partch, i consider Chopin to be one of the supreme genius
composers -- to my ears, he's the *only* composer who wrote
music that really makes the piano seem to "sing". his preferred
tuning is a matter of great interest to me.

can you find out any more details about this? if he really
did intend to use meantone, that would make his compositions
sound quite different from what most of us are used to hearing.

-monz

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "monz" <monz@a...> wrote:

> like Partch, i consider Chopin to be one of the supreme genius
> composers -- to my ears, he's the *only* composer who wrote
> music that really makes the piano seem to "sing".

i grew up with chopin around the house (both parents play piano and
grew up in poland) and i certainly agree with this. it's also
interesting that chopin didn't care for many composers -- it seems he
only looked to two, bach and mozart, as influences and models.

> his preferred
> tuning is a matter of great interest to me.

> can you find out any more details about this? if he really
> did intend to use meantone,

some of his compositions make use of the vanishing of 648;625 and
other unison vectors that don't vanish in meantone. a closed 12-tone
tuning seems the only viable option (on the ordinary piano -- of
course adaptive tuning could be used given today's technology but
shouldn't count as his "preferred tuning") . . .