How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (and why You Should Care)Ross W. Duffin presents an engaging and elegantly reasoned exposé of musical temperament and its impact on the way in which we experience music. A historical narrative, a music theory lesson, and, above all, an impassioned letter to musicians and listeners everywhere, How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony possesses the power to redefine the very nature of our interactions with music today. For nearly a century, equal temperament--the practice of dividing an octave into twelve equally proportioned half-steps--has held a virtual monopoly on the way in which instruments are tuned and played. In his new book, Duffin explains how we came to rely exclusively on equal temperament by charting the fascinating evolution of tuning through the ages. Along the way, he challenges the widely held belief that equal temperament is a perfect, "naturally selected" musical system, and proposes a radical reevaluation of how we play and hear music. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 14
Page 26
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 40
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 42
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 46
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 49
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Contents
Acknowledgments | 9 |
Prelude | 15 |
How Temperament Started | 31 |
NonKeyboard Tuning | 46 |
How Long O Lord How Long? | 64 |
A Bridge to the Nineteenth Century | 76 |
Really Better or Simply Easier? | 94 |
Some Are More Equal than Others | 104 |
The Joachim Mode | 119 |
The Limbo of That Which Is Disregarded | 138 |
Where Do We Go from Here? | 145 |
Table of Intervals in Cents | 163 |
| 171 | |
Sources and Permissions | 177 |
Other editions - View all
How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (and Why You Should Care) Ross W. Duffin No preview available - 2008 |
How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony: And Why You Should Care Ross W Duffin No preview available - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
55-division Alphonse Blondel Bach Bach's became Beethoven Campagnoli chords chromatic semitone comma composer concert Copyright Lebrecht Music Delezenne diatonic semitones differentiation Donald Francis Tovey Ellis equal temperament expressive intonation extended meantone facsimile edition figure flute François-Antoine Habeneck frequency Galin Guarneri Quartet harmonic series harpsichord Haydn Hermann von Helmholtz high leading notes higher Hipkins irregular temperaments Johann Joachim Quantz Joseph Joachim keyboard instruments keys Leopold Mozart London Louis Spohr major and minor meantone system meantone temperament melodic ment Méthode minor semitone musi Music & Arts Music and Musicians narrow nineteenth century non-keyboard octave Octave Division open strings orchestra organ Pablo Casals Pachmann Paris performance piano pianoforte Pierre Galin pitch play Prelleur pure intervals pure major third Pythagorean ratio Sarasate scale Sensations of Tone sharps and flats sixth-comma meantone sound string players theorist Thomas Attwood Tosi trans treatise tuners tuning system violin violinist Violinschule whole tone