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JI vs. ET chords

🔗Christopher Bailey <chris@music.columbia.edu>

2/9/2008 11:02:23 AM

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🔗Daniel Wolf <djwolf@snafu.de>

2/10/2008 5:57:27 AM

Christopher Bailey wrote:

"In a way, a JI version of that kind of chord is more interesting and
colorful than just a plain old 5-limit triad or whatever."

I think that "interesting" is entirely contextual. The main distinction between the chords, in my opinion, is that the ET version is function more ambiguous while the JI version is functionally more explicit. While there are compositional environments in which JI sonorities of this sort may be used with all of the ambiguity of the ET versions, the JI versions have a more explicit identity that may be used compositionally as well. As to whether one is more "colorful" than the other, again this is contextual (register, timbres, etc.) and while generally preferring sonorites with less beating, I can well imagine situations in which a bit of temperament might have some advantages in terms of color.

Daniel Wolf