Thanks.

Using pure just temperament, I came up with this

A3 = -16 cents
C4 = +0 cents
D4 = +4 cents
E4 = -14 cents
G4 = +2 cents
A4 = -16 cents

All from a standard equal temperament tuner set at A4 = 440

There is a very subtle but very real difference in the instrument, block and 
strum sounds more  natural when only 2 strings are open - any interval.  There 
was a tendancy for this instrument to sound, well, off, with the intervals 
being a bit tinny sounding in equal temperament.  It makes sense, since the 
pentatonic tuning is based on perfect intervals, and there are no perfect 
intervals in the equal temperament except the octave.

Again, thanks for the website, the chart of errors helped me a lot.  Now I get 
some small idea of the improvements that can be made to the intervals between 
the drones and chanters when they are tuned in just temperament, and since 
gurdies are not chording instruments (except for the natural chords set up with 
the drones) the impact on playability would be minimal (until you get to play 
with other instruments, then I can see a few sour note combinations appearing.)

Chris




*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

On 4/15/2008 at 6:36 PM Kevin Hughes wrote:

This site might be helpful:
http://www.kirnberger.fsnet.co.uk/






Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:01:35 -0500
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [email protected]
Subject: [HG] temperament question


Sorry, sent before I cleaned it up or changed the subject line.  I'll try it 
again

OK, all the talk about experimenting with and playing in different temperaments 
has got me thinking about other instruments.

I just finished an electro-accoustic Germanic Rote, the original of which was 
dated to 581 AD.  Probably not tuned in equal temperament.  But was it tuned 
pythagorean, or some other form?  There are some real temperament experts here, 
and this instrument, since it is not stopped or fretted, seems like a perfect 
way to experiment.

It has 6 strings, all open without any fretting (I can get some intervals in 
the way a Jouhiko is stopped, and I can draw a primary harmonic at 50% of the 
string, but it is not a fretted or stopped instrument)

It is tuned pentatonic, A3, C4, D4, E4, G4, A4

I use a Korg Chromatic tuner to tune it, and I think that since it contains 
both a 4th and a seventh, which if I understand are the most different between 
modern equal and older just temperaments, I will need to do small adjustments.  
I am tuning equal at A4 = 440, and my tuner will let me see cents and is 
accurate (I can tune by pludding the instrument in, so I avoid outside noises).

Can someone give me a cents difference for each note that would put this 
instrument into a temperament that would be plausible for the time period that 
it comes from?  Or help me to figure out how to develop that set of values?

Thanks

Chris




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