Hi Alan, In connection with the question of intonation and the perception of "in-tune-ness", your quotation is very interesting. Violinists have the problem of having to decide whether to tune their "A" to whatever has been decided as the pitch for the ensemble with which they are playing 440, 442 or whatever the "fixed" instruments (piano, NSP, accordion, etc.) may determine, and then either tuning their other strings to perfect fifths - which keeps string players happiest, or tuning to an electric tuner, which uses an equal temperament scale.
Last night I was listening to a recording of the "Kings Singers" which a friend had forwarded me via e-mail (see http://www.classicalty.com/v945/the-kings-singers-from-byrd-to-beatles ) This is a perfect example of something which is absolutely "in tune" and so beautifully not only harmonious, but also peaceful. It makes one realize how rarely one hears something where everyone is using "just" tuning, and really listening to the rest of the gang while performing. (You may not like madrigals, but you can always "fast-forward" to Spirituals or the Beatles.) I agree completely that vibrato can enrich music, and certainly has its place. Likewise that with pieces which include frequent modulations to different keys, especially where/when large groups of instruments are involved, the equal temperament scale is probably the best solution but, since our pipes are (supposedly . . . we hope . . .!) perfectly tuned when playing in G, and almost so in the other 3 most frequently used keys (D, Ami, Emi), a sensitive string/wind player will probably find themselves adjusting their playing to "just intonation". I.e. when they are playing B when the melody/NSP is suggesting a Gmajor chord, the note will be fractionally different from when the melody/NSP requires it as the 5th for an E minor chord. That's my pennyworth. cheers, Sheila -----Original Message----- From: Alan Corkett <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Cc: NSP LIST <[email protected]> Sent: Sat, Jan 8, 2011 9:37 am Subject: [NSP] Re: A 70 cent divergence Having looked up what a cent was on wikipeadia, here is what it said about uman perception. HUMAN PERCEPTION t is difficult to establish how many cents are perceptible to humans; this ccuracy varies greatly from person to person. One author stated that humans an distinguish a difference in pitch of about 5-6 cents.[2] The threshold f what is perceptible, technically known as the just noticeable difference, lso varies as a function of the timbre of the pitch: in one study, changes n tone quality reduced student musicians' ability to recognize as ut-of-tune pitches that deviated from their appropriate values by ±12 ents.[3] It has also been established that increased tonal context enables isteners to judge pitch more accurately.[4] When listening to pitches with vibrato, there is evidence that humans erceive the mean frequency as the center of the pitch.[5] One study of ibrato in western vocal music found a variation in cents of vibrato ypically ranged between ±34 cents and ±123 cents, with a mean variation of 71 cents; the variation was much higher on Verdi opera arias.[6] Normal adults are able to recognize pitch differences of as small as 25 ents very reliably. Adults with amusia, however, have trouble recognizing ifferences of less than 100 cents and sometimes have trouble with these or arger intervals.[7] I thought this to be quite revealing! lan Corkett -----Original Message----- rom: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]on ehalf Of [email protected] ent: 08 January 2011 14:04 o: [email protected] ubject: [NSP] Re: Doublin' (Keenan & Glackin) A 70 cent divergence between one set of pipes and another is alarming! More than a third of a tone in old money. We are approaching the territory of that Irish flute player I mentioned. A tactful cull of the outliers might be a good idea - 'Your pipes are more suitable for solo playing' perhaps? -- o get on or off this list see list information at ttp://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
