The Equal Beating Temperaments

Kottick presents technical information in an accessible, but entertaining, way: the forms and styles of harpsichords, advice on purchasing decisions, maintenance techniques (such as voicing, regulating, and changing strings, tongues, plectra, springs, and dampers), aids in troubleshooting common problems, and detailed instructions on tuning and temperament. As builder of some thirty keyboard instruments, Kottick is well qualified to speak on the subject.

"A fascinating and genuinely accessible guide....Educating, enjoyable, and delightfully unscary."—Classical Music What if Bach and Mozart heard richer, more dramatic chords than we hear in music today? What sonorities and moods have we lost in playing music in "equal temperament"—the equal division of the octave into twelve notes that has become our standard tuning method? Thanks to How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony, "we may soon be able to hear for ourselves what Beethoven really meant when he called B minor 'black'" (Wall Street Journal).In this "comprehensive plea for more variety in tuning methods" (Kirkus Reviews), Ross W. Duffin presents "a serious and well-argued case" (Goldberg Magazine) that "should make any contemporary musician think differently about tuning" (Saturday Guardian). Some images in the ebook are not displayed owing to permissions issues.

Author Thomas Donahue assembles new information and material from previous sources, providing a comprehensive outline of theories and a historical overview that fills a neglected niche in music and keyboard reference."--Jacket.

The first comprehensive technical and historical study of stringed keyboard instruments from their fourteenth-century origins to modern times.

For over forty years, Arthur A. Reblitz’s Piano Servicing, Tuning, and Rebuilding has been the gold-standard manual for piano technicians and hands-on hobbyists who want to rebuild or maintain pianos. Reblitz demystifies the daunting prospect of working on a piano as he guides readers through every detail of upright and grand piano mechanics and describes servicing and repairs with understandable, easy-to-follow instructions. The third edition of this invaluable handbook includes over 60 new and 300 remastered images of piano anatomy, tools, and techniques; consideration of ivory alternatives and the newest adhesives and lubricants; new material covering the art of tuning by ear and today’s sophisticated electronic tuning devices; new repair and rebuilding techniques; and a brand new glossary of terms. Piano Servicing, Tuning, and Rebuilding provides piano technician and servicing programs, pianists, and amateur players and hobbyists around the world with an essential twenty-first-century guide to achieving peak performance and maximum longevity for their instruments.

Written for musicians by a musician, Meantone Temperaments on Lutes and Viols demystifies tuning systems by providing the basic information, historical context, and practical advice necessary to easily achieve more satisfying tuning results on fretted instruments. Despite the overwhelming organological evidence that many of the finest lutenists, vihuelists, and viola da gamba players in the Renaissance and Baroque eras tuned their instruments in one of the meantone temperaments, most modern early instrument players today still tune to equal temperament. In this handbook richly supplemented with figures, diagrams, and music examples, historical performers will discover why temperaments are necessary and how they work, descriptions of a variety of temperaments, and their application on fretted instruments. This technical book provides downloadable audio tracks and other tools for fretted instrument players to achieve more stable consonances, colorful dissonances, and harmonic progressions that vividly propel the music forward.