How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (and Why You Should Care)
How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (and Why You Should Care)

Author: Ross W. Duffin

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2008-10-17

Total Pages: 197

ISBN-13: 0393075648

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"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.

How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony
How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony

Author: Ross W Duffin

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2008-10-14

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0393334201

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"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).

Temperament
Temperament

Author: Stuart Isacoff

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2003-02-04

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 0375703306

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Few music lovers realize that the arrangement of notes on today’s pianos was once regarded as a crime against God and nature, or that such legendary thinkers as Pythagoras, Plato, da Vinci, Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, Newton and Rousseau played a role in the controversy. Indeed, from the time of the Ancient Greeks through the eras of Renaissance scientists and Enlightenment philosophers, the relationship between the notes of the musical scale was seen as a key to the very nature of the universe. In this engaging and accessible account, Stuart Isacoff leads us through the battles over that scale, placing them in the context of quarrels in the worlds of art, philosophy, religion, politics and science. The contentious adoption of the modern tuning system known as equal temperament called into question beliefs that had lasted nearly two millenia–and also made possible the music of Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy, and all who followed. Filled with original insights, fascinating anecdotes, and portraits of some of the greatest geniuses of all time, Temperament is that rare book that will delight the novice and expert alike.

Tuning and Temperament
Tuning and Temperament

Author: J. Murray Barbour

Publisher: Courier Corporation

Published: 2013-07-04

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 0486317358

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This classic chronicle of the longstanding challenges of tuning and temperament devotes a chapter to each principal theory, features a glossary and numerous tables, and requires only minimal background in music theory.

Tuning, Timbre, Spectrum, Scale
Tuning, Timbre, Spectrum, Scale

Author: William A. Sethares

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-06-05

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13: 1447141776

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Tuning, Timbre, Spectrum, Scale focuses on perceptions of consonance and dissonance, and how these are dependent on timbre. This also relates to musical scale: certain timbres sound more consonant in some scales than others. Sensory consonance and the ability to measure it have important implications for the design of audio devices and for musical theory and analysis. Applications include methods of adapting sounds for arbitrary scales, ways to specify scales for nonharmonic sounds, and techniques of sound manipulation based on maximizing (or minimizing) consonance. Special consideration is given here to a new method of adaptive tuning that can automatically adjust the tuning of a piece based its timbral character so as to minimize dissonance. Audio examples illustrating the ideas presented are provided on an accompanying CD. This unique analysis of sound and scale will be of interest to physicists and engineers working in acoustics, as well as to musicians and psychologists.

Before the Chinrest
Before the Chinrest

Author: Stanley Ritchie

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2012-07-16

Total Pages: 167

ISBN-13: 0253223180

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Drawing on the principles of Francesco Geminiani and four decades of experience as a baroque and classical violinist, Stanley Ritchie offers a valuable resource for anyone wishing to learn about 17th-18th-and early 19th-century violin technique and style. While much of the work focuses on the technical aspects of playing the pre-chinrest violin, these approaches are also applicable to the viola, and in many ways to the modern violin. Before the Chinrest includes illustrated sections on right- and left-hand technique, aspects of interpretation during the Baroque, Classical, and early-Romantic eras, and a section on developing proper intonation.

The Original Accident
The Original Accident

Author: Paul Virilio

Publisher: Polity

Published: 2007-02-27

Total Pages: 127

ISBN-13: 0745636144

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Virilio defines the ways in which postindustrial science has merged with out-and-out hyperterrorism to threaten the foundations of Greco-Roman, Judeo-Christian civilisation, and the future of the planet with them, through innovation of mass catastrophes that are part and parcel of its panoply of inventions.

Musical Mathematics
Musical Mathematics

Author: Cris Forster

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Published: 2010-07-14

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780811874076

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Musical Mathematics is the definitive tome for the adventurous musician. Integrating mathematics, music history, and hands-on experience, this volume serves as a comprehensive guide to the tunings and scales of acoustic instruments from around the world. Author, composer, and builder Cris Forster illuminates the mathematical principles of acoustic music, offering practical information and new discoveries about both traditional and innovative instruments.With this knowledge readers can improve, or begin to build, their own instruments inspired by Forster's creationsshown in 16 color plates. For those ready to step outside musical conventions and those whose curiosity about the science of sound is never satisfied, Musical Mathematics is the map to a new musical world.