misinformation

As it is most musicians see xenharmonics as far more complicated than the
clear as day approach it actually is. You don't hear painters complain about
having too many colors ! Unfortunately the musical establishment seems
content with the grade school box of 12 crayons.

And, adding to this is the astonishing amount of misinformation in
circulation. I suppose we primarily have to thank all the moron members of
the "classical" music establishment for the sorry state of affairs. All that
rot about well temperament being 12EDO, etc., etc.

Anyway, in particular :

"The following is a reprint of THE GUILD OF AMERICAN LUTHIERS data sheet
#45."
http://w3.ime.net/~cygnus/equal_temperament.html

This article seems to tell guitarists that they should learn to accept 12EDO
as the absolute truth & not even try anything else. It should have included
info that alternatives do exist and are in widespread use. Instead :

1) " (They might be interested to know that to approximate pure chords on
all forms would require about three dozen frets within the octave.) "

As is commonly encountered, here again we see the implication that 36EDO
is unacceptable/unusable/impractical. We all know this is b.s.

2) " Guitarists who have been trying to tune to one or another pure chord
form must learn to understand and accept equal temperament. "

Understand ? yes ! accept ? no ! But it gets worse :

3) " The system of equal temperament reduces the number to twelve, thereby
making manageable all instruments of fixed pitch. "

They're telling all those unsuspecting musicians that equal temperament
means only 12EDO. They should make room for a dictionary in their budget.

4) Worst of all, they advocate that we not bother trying anything else, and
imply that to do so is a waste of time and effort & is *wrong* :

" If you are one of those persons who is sensitive to pure intervals, here
is what you are going to notice on an absolutely perfectly tuned guitar
in equal temperament: Play an open E major chord. Listen to G# on the
third string and you most likely will want to lower it very slightly.
Don't do it. Ignore it. Enjoy the overall beauty and resonance of chord
just as does the pianist. "

Which means they also don't know all pianos are not tuned to 12EDO !

"Learn to expect and accept the slight sharpness of the major third in
each chord (and oppositely, the flatness of the minor third in each
minor chord). Train your ear to accept tempered intervals and you will
be much happier with your guitar. "

The last word :

"When the foregoing steps are followed correctly, the strings will be
tuned perfectly to equal temperament. No further tuning adjustments are
permissible."

-----------

This is only half a useful article, raising important points about tuing
using harmonics, etc. It is important to educate performers of fixed pitch
instruments about the design & tuning of their instrument, guitarists in
particular are a *high risk* ;-) group.

Speaking of which, anyone else here dissapointed with Steve Vai's "The Ultra
Zone" ? I'm stunned by how unstunned I am.

Perhaps someone can write to the Guild of American Luthiers & see what
happens. Could be amusing at the very least.
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BTW, Britannica's explanation of JI is flawed, or rather, incomplete.
Search for "just intonation" at http://www.britannica.com and take a peek.

- Drew

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