How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (and Why You Should Care)

Ross W. Duffin

Oct 2008 · W. W. Norton & Company

About this eBook

"A fascinating and genuinely accessible guide....Educating, enjoyable, and delightfully unscary."—Classical Music What if Bach and Mozart heard richer, more dramatic chords than we hear in music today? What sonorities and moods have we lost in playing music in "equal temperament"—the equal division of the octave into twelve notes that has become our standard tuning method? Thanks to How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony, "we may soon be able to hear for ourselves what Beethoven really meant when he called B minor 'black'" (Wall Street Journal).In this "comprehensive plea for more variety in tuning methods" (Kirkus Reviews), Ross W. Duffin presents "a serious and well-argued case" (Goldberg Magazine) that "should make any contemporary musician think differently about tuning" (Saturday Guardian). Some images in the ebook are not displayed owing to permissions issues.

Ratings and reviews

This book explained, in all the detail I will ever need, the problem with the tuners we use today (calibrated to ET). I always knew intuitively that I hadn't learned to tune with other orchestral musicians by what a tuner was showing on its dial, and this was different than how I tune when I play with a piano. It was technical enough without being overwhelming. Anyone with a understanding of basic music theory (circle of fifths and intervals) can benefit from reading this book. I am in awe of the many theorists of the past and what they were able to hear without the aide of any machines. All the minute divisions of a whole step boggle my mind. I enjoyed the profiles, though I read them after each chapter to maintain the train of thought. This is a great book for anyone interested in how tuning works.

Interesting and thoughtful analysis of tuning systems in their historical context. I enjoyed reading it and learned quite a bit.

About the author

Ross W. Duffin, the Fynette H. Kulas Professor of Music at Case Western Reserve University, is the author of the award-winning Shakespeare's Songbook. He lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio.