MEANTONE TEMPERAMENT AND OTHER HISTORICAL TUNING SYSTEMS, PART 1 / What if I told you that G# and Ab were not the same note? Throughout most of the history of Classical music they weren’t and in this video I’m going to show you how and why!
This video is an introduction to historical tuning systems and temperaments, particularly 1/4-comma meantone temperament and how it differs from equal temperament. I explain what temperaments are, why we need them, and how composers of Renaissance and Baroque music used them. I demonstrate quarter comma meantone temperament by using parts of Michelangelo Rossi’s famous “Toccata Settima,” showing just how crazy some 17th-century Italian Baroque music can sound in the temperament it was written for!
__________
0:00 Intro
1:02 What are temperaments? And what is equal temperament?
1:42 Why do we need temperaments?
2:00 Pure Third vs. Impure Third Example 1
3:06 How do you create a temperament? All about the Pythagorean Comma and the Syntonic Comma
4:45 How do temperaments work? All about Equal Temperament
6:01 Meantone Temperament vs. Equal Temperament
6:25 Quarter-Comma Meantone Temperament
7:03 The "Wolf Fifth"/"Wolf Interval"/"Wolf Tone"
7:47 Pure Third vs. Impure Third Example 2
8:17 Enharmonics don't exist in 1/4-comma meantone!
9:27 Keyboard with split sharps or split keys
9:43 The Benefits of Quarter-Comma Meantone
10:07 Michelangelo Rossi Toccata Settima
10:31 Non-chromatic section of Rossi Toccata Settima
11:16 The famous chromatic section of Michelangelo Rossi Toccata Settima (in 1/4-comma meantone temperament)
__________
The photo (which has been cropped) of the harpsichord with split sharps comes from here:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Organeum-Weener_Cembalo-Universale_front_LWEOS0487.jpg
__________
DR. ALICE CHUAQUI BALDWIN. For more about me, check out my website:
https://www.alicebaldwinmusic.com/
__________
Connect with me on social:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/achuaquibaldwin/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/achuaquibaldwin
Twitter: https://twitter.com/achuaquibaldwin
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQTSR7QNXlfC9saxzdqCVYg
https://www.alicebaldwinmusic.com/
#Harpsichord #Meantone #BaroqueMusic