In response to my Tues 19:00 e-mail Anselm Lingnau wrote:
Quoting me:
> Altering the intervals of "the most perfect instrument" to those of
the "primitive and very imperfect" one makes no musical sense nor any
other sense.
Anselm's comment:
Well, both these comments come from fiddlers so what do you expect?
My comment: I would expect them to give an honest response. In addition
their response is consistent with other important sources.
Anselm: However a fiddle isn't any good in, e.g., battlefield-scale
psychological warfare, and any piper would be forgiven if they
considered a fiddle `primitive and very imperfect' on that account.
My comment: Agreed. But should I ask, What would you expect from a
piper? No I won't. A grand piano, a cello, etc "isn't any good in
battlefield-scale psychological warfare" either but utility on the
battlefield isn't the criteria I would use to rate the relative merits
of musical instruments.
My Tues e-mail comment:
> In summary a note whose pitch lies about half way between G and G# is
not in the equal tempered scale, is not in the just intonation scale,
and does not designate a tune as Scottish. It is simply out of tune.
Alselm's comment: It may be `out of tune' by your scientific definition
but it may still
sound right to the musicians (and audience). I have Ken Perlman's book
on the fiddle music of Prince Edward Island, and his transcriptions show
many instances where particular players play their notes `too sharp' or
`too flat'. It's their style, and they've been doing it for ages in
blissful ignorance of Messrs. Lloyd, Honeyman or Gill. I suppose you
could walk up to a PEI fiddler and tell them that they're playing out of
tune but chances are you would just be laughed out of the kitchen to the
strains of vigorous out-of-tune fiddle music. And the same thing
probably applies to Scottish fiddlers. Flattening the G# may not be a
sure-fire indicator of `Scottish' styling but it is something that, for
various reasons, one shouldn't be surprised to encounter in the playing
of many Scottish instrumentalists, and if it does occur that usually
happens on purpose rather than through sloppiness.
My comments: It isn't my scientific definition and what sounds right to
musicians and audiences everywhere is playing in tune. The
characteristics of the human ear, which is what determines this, are all
the same no matter where you live. The "in tune" definition is that of
the greatest minds in the subject in the last century. A quote from
Lloyd's "The Musical Ear" is relevant here: "It was Herman von
Helmholtz who showed what was missing in the conjectures of his
predecessors about the relations between the science of acoustics and
the art of music". I also have Ken Pearlman's book and note the
paragraph relating to the pitch of C# in the key of A major as being
half way between C and C#. If the interval between A and a flatted C#
were a deliberate musical choice in the key of A major then the interval
between G and B in the key of G major should also be a flatted B. It
never is. Also other fiddlers also play some of the tunes listed and
don't play their C#'s flat. For example if you listed the best known
Cape Breton fiddlers and then listed the CB fiddlers who play the least
number of notes out of tune [as I have described out of tune] guess
what! you'd have the same list. I should point out that every
fiddler/violinist plays some notes out of tune sometimes. I don't think
ignorance is ever blissful. Your responses dealt with the general
comments/conclusions which I had made but you didn't respond on the
details. That is unfortunate as that is where the discussion should
center.
My Tues e-mail comment:
> P.S. I, Alexander, am the writer of these e-mails, not Suzanne Mac
Donald.
Anselm's comment:
Well, if that is the case then maybe you should get your `From:' header
fixed.
My response: My apologies. I am very new to computers and am very low
down on the learning curve. This discussion appears to me to be getting
personal. I'm only interested in the subject itself. Accordingly, for
now at least, this will be my last e-mail on list. I will respond off
list to anyone as best I can.
Alexander
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