Music theory

[RAK]

I think that's a big reason people are bored with tonal music.

This is a very interesting point, and I could agree with that. I mean sure Equal Temperment got rid of the wolf, and allowed for key universiallity (is that a word?), but where's the soul? And perhaps by degrading the perfect 5th, we are fighting nature. I guess we should have just stuck with Pythagoras all along.

 

[amethyst_fan]

This is a very interesting point, and I could agree with that. I mean sure Equal Temperment got rid of the wolf, and allowed for key universiallity (is that a word?), but where's the soul? And perhaps by degrading the perfect 5th, we are fighting nature. I guess we should have just stuck with Pythagoras all along.

I think people would find anything other than Equal Temperment out of tune at this point, no?

 

[mshilarious]

I think people would find anything other than Equal Temperment out of tune at this point, no?

Maybe, but not more so that a microtonal scale.

 

[RAK]

Maybe, but not more so that a microtonal scale.

I was going to make basically the same point.
Specifically, my response was going to be: To a modern western ear, Indian music might sound just as out of tune, but I would not say that it is.

There is certainly music being played today, both new compositions, and early music that deals in alternate tunings besides equal temperment, not to mention Eastern music.

I think if a person is willing to expand their horizons and expose themselves to new things, then music that does not use an equal tempered scale will cease to be "out of tune" and just be what it is, different.

 

[amethyst_fan]

I was going to make basically the same point.
Specifically, my response was going to be: To a modern western ear, Indian music might sound just as out of tune, but I would not say that it is.

There is certainly music being played today, both new compositions, and early music that deals in alternate tunings besides equal temperment, not to mention Eastern music.

I think if a person is willing to expand their horizons and expose themselves to new things, then music that does not use an equal tempered scale will cease to be "out of tune" and just be what it is, different.

Yeah, that's basically what I thought, but the reason I mentioned it is because piano tuners often tell me differently. Some of them say that they are always having to double check their work because they are drawn to tuning perfect fourths and perfect fifths (real perfect fourths and fifths, not the ones we use in music) and then they are messing it up, and always have to reference back to octaves.

I would think that after playing music most of their life and doing it a zillion times it wouldn't be a problem, but a couple of piano tuners have said that to me. I thought it was an interesting quirk, maybe that is a +1 for the nature versus nurture guys.

 

[XLR]

I think people would find anything other than Equal Temperment out of tune at this point, no?

I hate the sound of maj 3rds and 6ths in equal temperament. I rarely play them on gtr without pulling those intervals at least a little more in tune with left hand technique. A common thing with gtr players from what I've seen. The other tempered intervals don't bother me.

 

[mshilarious]

I hate the sound of maj 3rds and 6ths in equal temperament. I rarely play them on gtr without pulling those intervals at least a little more in tune with left hand technique. A common thing with gtr players from what I've seen. The other tempered intervals don't bother me.

That's because the 4ths and 5ths don't suffer much, but the thirds get annihilated.

 

[XLR]

Well, the major 7th is pretty sharp and the minor 3rd pretty flat in equal temperament, but they don't bother me like the 3rds/6ths. Guess it's all related to our traditional tertiary harmony.