James Lecky

“ Ordinary organ-tone, except in the reed and mixture stops, is too smooth to distinguish sharply between consonance and dissonance, and the pipes are so liable to the influence of heat and cold that attempts to regulate tile pitch minutely are seldom successful. Still less would it be worth while to tune the pianoforte justly. It is chiefly to the orchestra that we must look for the development of just intonation; but among keyboard instruments the most suitable for the purpose is the harmonium, which is specially useful as a means of studying the effects obtainable from untempered chords. ”

“ It need not be inferred that equal temperament is unfit for musical purposes, or that it ought to be abolished. To introduce something new is hardly the same as to destroy something old. An improved system of tuning would only be employed as an occasional relief from the monotony of equal temperament, by no means as a universal substitute. The two could not, of course, be heard together; but each might be used in a different place or at a different time. Lastly, it is said that to divide the scale into smaller intervals than a Semitone is useless. ”

“ Next, it is said that the differences between the three main systems of tuning are too slight to deserve attention, and that while we hear tempered intervals with the outward ear, our mind understands what are the true intervals which they represent. But if we put these theories to a practical test, they are at once seen to be unfounded. It has been proved by experiment that long and habitual use of equal temperament does react on the sense of hearing, and that musicians who have spent many years at the keyboard have a dislike to just chords and still more to just scales. ”

“ To carry out any system of temperament consistently in the orchestra is practically an impossible task. Tempered intervals can only be produced with certainty on a small number of the instruments, chiefly the wood-wind. The brass instruments have an intonation of their own, which differs widely from either of the temperaments we have described. Thus the French horn, whose notes are the harmonics arising from the subdivision of a tube, gives a Major Third much flatter than equal temperament, and a Fifth much sharper than the meantone system. ”

“ Whether the minuter intervals would ever be useful in melody is a question which experience alone can decide. It rests with the composer to apply the material of mean and just intonation, with which he is now provided. The possibility of obtaining perfect tuning with keyed instruments is one result of the recent great advance in musical science, the influence of which seems likely to be felt in no branch of the art more than in Temperament. ”

“ The chief advantage of equal temperament is that it provides keyed instruments with unlimited facility of modulation, and places them, in this respect, more on a level with the voice, violin and trombone. It has thus assisted in the formation of a style of composition and execution suited to the pianoforte. It is the only system of intonation which, in concerted music, can be produced with the same degree of accuracy on every kind of instrument. ”

“ If we wish to employ any other system of tuning than equal temperament, we must increase the number of notes per Octave, since the ordinary twelve notes, unless tuned equally, are useless for anything beyond illustration or experiment. ”

“ There is yet another advantage to be gained by studying the different kinds of tuning. We have seen that even in those parts of the world where equal temperament has been established as the trade usage, other systems are also employed. Many countries possess a popular or natural music, which exists independently of the conventional or fashionable style, and does not borrow its system of intonation from our tempered instruments. ”

“ When a piece of music containing much change of key is executed in just intonation, we find that the number of notes employed in each Octave is considerable, and that the difference of pitch between them is, in many cases, comparatively minute. ”

“ Neither can theory solve those questions which sometimes arise as to the correct mode of writing certain chords. All questions of notation can only be decided by playing the disputed passage in some system of tuning which supplies a separate sound for each symbol. The reason why G♭ and F♯ were not written in the same chord was a purely practical one; these two signs originally meant different sounds, which formed combinations too rough for use. Our notation having been formed long before equal temperament came into use, it is not surprising that the symbols, do not correspond with the sounds. ”

“ Sustained tones are preferable as an accompaniment, because the singer himself can immediately hear the beats between the instrument and his voice, when he alters the pitch slightly.... When we require a delicate use of the muscles of any part of the human body, as, in this case, of the larynx, there must be some sure means of ascertaining whether success has been attained. Now the presence or absence of beats gives such a means of detecting success or failure when a voice is accompanied by sustained chords in just intonation. ”

“ It has enabled the maker of the pianoforte or the organ to obviate a serious imperfection without disturbing the traditional structure of the instrument; while, on the other hand, alterations both in the internal mechanism and in the form of keyboard would have been necessary if musicians had insisted that the 'wolves' should be got rid of without abolishing the old tuning. Trade usage will, therefore, be strongly on the side of equal temperament for a long time to come, and any attempt to recover the meantone system can only be made on a small scale, and for special purposes. ”

“ These conditions are not fulfilled by the pianoforte; for, owing to the soft quality of its tones, and the quickness with which they die away, it does not make the effects of temperament acutely felt. The organ is more useful for the purpose, since its full and sustained tones, especially in the reed stops, enable the ear to perceive differences of tuning with greater facility. The harmonium is superior even to the organ for illustrating errors of intonation, being less troublesome to tune and less liable to alter in pitch from variation of temperature or lapse of time. ”

“ Its deviations from exact consonance, though considerable, can be concealed by means of unsustained harmony, rapid movement, and soft quality of tone, so that many ears never perceive them. By constantly listening to the equally tempered scale, the ear may be brought not only to tolerate its intervals, but to prefer them to those of any other system, at least as far as melody is concerned. It has proved capable of being applied even to music of a high order, and its adoption may be considered an artistic success. ”

“ Owing to these changed conditions the evils of temperament are greatly intensified nowadays, and the necessity for some remedy has become imperative. There is but one direction in which an efficient remedy can be found, namely in the use of some more harmonious form of intonation than that which at present prevails. It is only by the help of an instrument on which the improved systems of tuning can be employed in an adequate manner, that the student will be able to estimate their value. ”

“ By playing a few chords on an ordinary harmonium and listening carefully to the effect, the student will perceive that in the usual mode of tuning, called Equal Temperament, only one consonant interval has a smooth and continuous sound, namely the Octave. All the others are interrupted by beats, that is to say, by regularly recurring throbs or pulsations, which mark the deviation from exact consonance. For example, the Fifth and Fourth, as at (x) , are each made to give about one beat per second. ”

“ There is necessarily a great deal of false harmony whenever the brass is prominently heard in tempered music. Again, the tuning of the string-quartet is accomplished by just Fifths (C—G—D—A—E) , but as these instruments have free intonation, they can execute tempered intervals when supported by the pianoforte or organ. In the absence of such an accompaniment, both violinists and singers seem unable to produce equally tempered scales or chords. ”

“ If we start from say D on the keyboard, and proceed along a series of four equal temperament Fifths upwards and two Octaves downwards, thus—
we arrive at a note (F♯) which we employ as the Major Third of our original note (D) . This tempered interval (D—F♯) is too sharp for exact consonance by nearly one-seventh of a Semitone; but if we make these Fifths flatter than they would be in equal temperament, then the interval D—F♯ will approach the perfect Major Third. We may thus obtain a number of systems of tuning according to the precise amount of flattening we choose to assign to the Fifth. ”

“ Correct intonation in singing is so far above all others the first condition of beauty, that a song when sung in correct intonation even by a weak and unpractised voice always sounds agreeable, whereas the richest and most practised voice offends the hearer when it sings false or sharpens.... The instruction of our present singers by means of tempered instruments is unsatisfactory, but those who possess good musical talents are ultimately able by their own practice to strike out the right path for themselves, and overcome the error of their original instruction.... ”

“ The Pythagorean Major Third is obtained by four just Fifths up, and is consequently so sharp as to amount to a dissonance. In melody, a scale tuned in this manner is found to be not unpleasant, but it is impossible in harmony. This fact also was verified by Cornu and Mercadier, who report that, in two-part harmony, the players with whom they experimented invariably produced the intervals of just intonation. The Thirds and Sixths gave no beats, and the Minor Seventh on the Dominant was always taken in its smoothest form, namely the Harmonic Seventh. ”

“ The meantone system is sometimes described as an 'unequal temperament,' but wrongly, since in it the so-called 'good keys' are all equally good; the 'bad keys' are simply those for which the necessary notes do not exist when the system is limited to twelve notes per Octave. The defect therefore lies not in the system itself, but in its application, and the only legitimate remedy is to increase the number of notes, and so provide a more extended series of Fifths. This was well understood from the first, for we find that as early as the 16th century many organs were constructed with extra notes. ”

“ Again, the Augmented Sixth is much flatter in the meantone system than in equal temperament, slightly flatter even than the interval called the Harmonic Seventh. When the strange impression which it causes at first has worn off, its effect is peculiarly smooth and agreeable, especially in full chords. It is also available as Dominant Seventh, and may be written with the acute mark (G—/F) , to distinguish it from the ordinary Minor Seventh got by two Fifths downwards (G—C—F) . ”

“ In double-stop passages the individual player feels himself responsible for the harmoniousness of the interval, and it lies completely within his power to make it good or bad.... But it is clear that if individual players feel themselves obliged to distinguish the different values of the notes in the different consonances, there is no reason why the bad Thirds of the Pythagorean series of Fifths should be retained in quartet-playing. Chords of several parts, executed by a quartet, often sound very ill, even when each one of the performers is an excellent solo player ”

“ On the new keyboard the fingering is of the simplest possible character, and permits the attainment of any required rate of speed. All desirable combinations lie within easy grasp related notes being nearly on the same level. To prove that ordinary music can be easily adapted to the meantone organ, Mr. Bosanquet performed on it three of Bach's preludes at the meeting of the Musical Association already referred to. ”

“ We shall omit from the present article all reference to the arithmetical treatment of temperament, and simply deal with its physical and audible effects. We shall describe the means by which any student may obtain for himself a practical knowledge of the subject, and point out some of the conclusions to which such knowledge will probably lead him. ”

“ Such knowledge can only be gained with the help of a keyed instrument, and by approaching the subject in this manner, the student will soon discover for himself what modulations are available and suitable in perfect tuning. ”

“ The ecclesiastical compositions of Bach, and all the works of Handel and his predecessors as far back as the 16th century, were written for the meantone system. By performing them in equal temperament we fail to realise the original intention. ”

“ After twelve Fifths we come to the B♯ key, and find it three inches behind and one inch above the from which we started. This oblique arrangement enables us to greatly increase the number of notes per Octave without any inconvenience to the player. At the same time the fingering is greatly simplified, for any given chord or scale always has the same form under the hand, at whatever actual pitch it may be played. ”