Re: Old guitar strings

[twayburn@juno.com (Thomas L Wayburn)]

On Wed, 05 Nov 1997 09:40:19 +0000 "Timothy J. Folkerts"
<tim.folkerts@valpo.edu> writes:
> On Tue, 04 Nov 1997 15:37:03 EST Thomas L Wayburn wrote (among other 
> things):
>
> > most pianos are noticeably
> > badly tuned, which does not take very good hearing to observe as the
> > beats are quite audible.  
>
> On the other hand, it is impossible to eliminate beats, even in 
> theory. 
> Any tuning of a piano leaves some intervals out of tune.  For 
> instance, 
> the standard "equal temper" tuning makes all major thirds quite sharp. 
>
> Most people are so used to this style of tuning, that they accept it 
> as 
> the "correct" tuning, even though it is really just a compromise.
>
> ---   Tim
****I'm hip. But, a note shouldn't beat with itself as in the case of
disparities among the three strings in the treble.  In the back of
Helmholtz (*Sensations of Tone ...* ) the editor has shown how to prepare
a harmonium for true pitch.  I think it will play the key, the relative
minor and the co-relative major - and maybe one more - with every
interval a ratio of small integers, as Pythagoras would have it.   I have
wondered why - with computers and electric instruments - someone doesn't
build an instrument that decides what key you are modulating to and
corrects all the pitches appropriately and automatically.  Back in Bach's
day, people built all sorts of marvelous monstrosities with multiple
keyboards and strings to play every key in tune, but no one could play
them.  Regards / Tom ***
> ---------------------------------------------------------
> Timothy J. Folkerts            email:  tim.folkerts@valpo.edu
> Department of Physics          phone:  219-464-6634
> Valparaiso University
> Valparaiso, IN  46383