How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony
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Review
"[Duffin's] fine book should make any contemporary musician think differently about tuning." Steven Poole, The Guardian "[A] handy little book..." Stephen Pettitt, The Sunday Times "...explains the theory and gives an informative and readable historical account..." The Times Higher Education Supplement "...Duffin argues his case with great verve and charm." Michael Downes, The Times Literary Supplement"
Product Description
Ross W. Duffin presents an engaging and elegantly reasoned expose of musical temperament and its impact on the way in which we experience music. An historical narrative, a music theory lesson, and, above all, an impassioned letter to musicians and listeners everywhere, "How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony" possesses the power to redefine the very nature of our interactions with music.For nearly a century, equal temperament - the practice of dividing an octave into twelve equally proportioned half-steps - has held a virtual monopoly on the way in which instruments are tuned and played. Duffin explains how we came to rely exclusively on equal temperament and along the way, he challenges the widely held belief that equal temperament is a perfect, 'naturally selected' musical system, and proposes a radical re-evaluation of how we play and hear music.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
70 of 70 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Never judge a book by its cover, they say, and it must be even more true that you should never judge a book by its title. As soon as I saw the title of this book, however, I knew I would have to make an exception in this case and read it.
Ross Duffin has written an engaging, densely argued and robust demolition of the commonly held idea that equal temperament triumphed in the time of Bach's Well Tempered Clavier and has been the one true tuning ever since. Drawing his evidence from documentary, instrumental and, for the 20th Century, recorded performances, Mr Duffin shows that the equal temperament (of 12 equally-spaced semitones to the octave) only became any form of standard much later than generally imagined, and is in many cases still more honoured in the breach than the observance - indeed the Well Tempered Clavier itself was Well Tempered, not Equal Tempered.
As to his subtitle (`And Why You Should Care') he argues that we are hearing the majority of music in a very different way than was intended by the composer - Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, to name but three, wrote their masterpieces to be performed in temperaments other than the equal, thus fundamentally altering the way in which the very chordal progressions, and therefore the overall timbre and character within the pieces, progress.
Along the way Mr Duffin gives entertaining pen portraits of the major figures in his story, has a wealth of anecdotal asides, and writes in a generally entertaining and accessible way.
I say `generally' because there is no possible way of avoiding the mathematics, subtleties and jargon of tuning and temperament; this is a musicological work, and its readership will probably be unjustly restricted by virtue of some of the more technical sections. While being critical I would also like to have seen the aforementioned pen portraits grouped at the end of the book or at the end of chapters; the small page format of the book means that the main flow of the text is disrupted by the interjection of the portraits at the precise point in which the person or concept is first introduced. I would also have liked to have known whether Mr Duffin thought the spread of recorded music in the 20th Century affected the standardisation of tuning systems, and perhaps also seen his argument and examples straying outside the purely classical repertoire into such areas as blues and folk.
Those minor quibbles aside I would heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of music, the development of musical instruments, and to anyone who, like me and also the cello student quoted in the text, wondered why the great expressive cellist Pablo Casals sounded so `out of tune' on first hearing.
Ross Duffin has written an engaging, densely argued and robust demolition of the commonly held idea that equal temperament triumphed in the time of Bach's Well Tempered Clavier and has been the one true tuning ever since. Drawing his evidence from documentary, instrumental and, for the 20th Century, recorded performances, Mr Duffin shows that the equal temperament (of 12 equally-spaced semitones to the octave) only became any form of standard much later than generally imagined, and is in many cases still more honoured in the breach than the observance - indeed the Well Tempered Clavier itself was Well Tempered, not Equal Tempered.
As to his subtitle (`And Why You Should Care') he argues that we are hearing the majority of music in a very different way than was intended by the composer - Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, to name but three, wrote their masterpieces to be performed in temperaments other than the equal, thus fundamentally altering the way in which the very chordal progressions, and therefore the overall timbre and character within the pieces, progress.
Along the way Mr Duffin gives entertaining pen portraits of the major figures in his story, has a wealth of anecdotal asides, and writes in a generally entertaining and accessible way.
I say `generally' because there is no possible way of avoiding the mathematics, subtleties and jargon of tuning and temperament; this is a musicological work, and its readership will probably be unjustly restricted by virtue of some of the more technical sections. While being critical I would also like to have seen the aforementioned pen portraits grouped at the end of the book or at the end of chapters; the small page format of the book means that the main flow of the text is disrupted by the interjection of the portraits at the precise point in which the person or concept is first introduced. I would also have liked to have known whether Mr Duffin thought the spread of recorded music in the 20th Century affected the standardisation of tuning systems, and perhaps also seen his argument and examples straying outside the purely classical repertoire into such areas as blues and folk.
Those minor quibbles aside I would heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of music, the development of musical instruments, and to anyone who, like me and also the cello student quoted in the text, wondered why the great expressive cellist Pablo Casals sounded so `out of tune' on first hearing.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is about the biggest skeleton in music's cupboard: the fact that the notes in the musical scale don't quite add up right.
A perfect fifth and a perfect fourth make an octave - that's fine. A major third and a minor third make a perfect fifth - that's fine. But though three consecutive major thirds on the piano keyboard take you up precisely an octave, three 'pure' major thirds actually make slightly less than an octave. And though four minor thirds on the piano keyboard make an exact octave, four 'pure' minor thirds actually make slightly more than an octave. So somehow, especially when tuning a keyboard instrument on which the notes are fixed (and one black note has to double as both F sharp and G flat) we have to tune the notes in such a way as to make a decent job of both the scale and the harmonies. This book is about the different methods of 'squaring the circle' that people have used over history.
In particular the author is concerned to debunk the myth that 'equal temperament', which simply divides an octave into twelve absolutely equal semitones, necessarily sounds the best and was the choice of the great composers of the 18th and 19th centuries. Bach's famous "Well-tempered Clavier" was not written (as is often thought) to demonstrate the superiority of equal temperament. Bach intended it to be played in a temperament in which (unusually for the day) every key 'worked', but yet sounded slightly different from the others. That was a revelation to me, but makes such sense.
Non-equal temperaments don't make every key sound the same. In some of them, some keys will sound wonderful and others will sound abysmal. The compromise has to come somewhere. The author's point is that simply dividing the octave into twelve equal semitones has not 'solved' the problem for all time. It brings harmonic disadvantages with it, particularly as it has to use a very wide major third. There is a cost to being able to transpose with impunity to any key you fancy.
Given that equal temperament is used almost universally on pianos and organs today, the book is far from being merely a hypothetical excursion. It might take a little bit of work in understanding, and contains a bit of elementary maths. But it is nevertheless an easy read.
I found it illuminating to fiddle around on an electronic keyboard (mine is a Roland RD-700, but I'm sure there are others) which allows the user instantly to change the temperament to one of half a dozen different options. I was amazed at what I heard.
A perfect fifth and a perfect fourth make an octave - that's fine. A major third and a minor third make a perfect fifth - that's fine. But though three consecutive major thirds on the piano keyboard take you up precisely an octave, three 'pure' major thirds actually make slightly less than an octave. And though four minor thirds on the piano keyboard make an exact octave, four 'pure' minor thirds actually make slightly more than an octave. So somehow, especially when tuning a keyboard instrument on which the notes are fixed (and one black note has to double as both F sharp and G flat) we have to tune the notes in such a way as to make a decent job of both the scale and the harmonies. This book is about the different methods of 'squaring the circle' that people have used over history.
In particular the author is concerned to debunk the myth that 'equal temperament', which simply divides an octave into twelve absolutely equal semitones, necessarily sounds the best and was the choice of the great composers of the 18th and 19th centuries. Bach's famous "Well-tempered Clavier" was not written (as is often thought) to demonstrate the superiority of equal temperament. Bach intended it to be played in a temperament in which (unusually for the day) every key 'worked', but yet sounded slightly different from the others. That was a revelation to me, but makes such sense.
Non-equal temperaments don't make every key sound the same. In some of them, some keys will sound wonderful and others will sound abysmal. The compromise has to come somewhere. The author's point is that simply dividing the octave into twelve equal semitones has not 'solved' the problem for all time. It brings harmonic disadvantages with it, particularly as it has to use a very wide major third. There is a cost to being able to transpose with impunity to any key you fancy.
Given that equal temperament is used almost universally on pianos and organs today, the book is far from being merely a hypothetical excursion. It might take a little bit of work in understanding, and contains a bit of elementary maths. But it is nevertheless an easy read.
I found it illuminating to fiddle around on an electronic keyboard (mine is a Roland RD-700, but I'm sure there are others) which allows the user instantly to change the temperament to one of half a dozen different options. I was amazed at what I heard.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
...and you don't need to be afraid of the answers: because, although incredibly erudite, this is a very clearly written book -- suffused with some wonderful humour! The mini biographies of all the key (groan) players also give it an extra dimension: bringing even more life to what could be a dry and technical subject....
But this book is anything but....
And, yes, I do now care -- as obviously does the author... -- and do now understand why anyone who loves music (whether as creator, performer, or listener) should also care... -- tremendously... -- about something that affects every single note (and chord) that hits our ear-drums....
An essential read for musicians everywhere....
But this book is anything but....
And, yes, I do now care -- as obviously does the author... -- and do now understand why anyone who loves music (whether as creator, performer, or listener) should also care... -- tremendously... -- about something that affects every single note (and chord) that hits our ear-drums....
An essential read for musicians everywhere....
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
No diagrams! WTF!
At over £6 you would expect the book to have the diagrams that the text refers to. It doesn't. Interesting read but without the diagrams it is an utter rip off.
Published 1 month ago by Mike
Kindle edition is incomplete
Why ruin a fascinating book by publishing only the text and not the diagrams to which that text refers? This book has been rendered meaningless by such an omission. Read more
Published 4 months ago by frannbug
No illustrations
I bought the eBook but had to ask for a refund because there are no illustrations. In what I find to be a challenging concept, the illustrations are vital to my understanding, and... Read more
Published 4 months ago by NigelWood
Missing images on Kindle edition
<Please note that this review only applies to the Kindle edition>
The book itself is a great initial read, however I have had to stop early on... Read more
The book itself is a great initial read, however I have had to stop early on... Read more
Published 4 months ago by MRTubby
Fun to read and intriguing
Makes it easy to understand basic acoustics without too much math. It is very interesting and accurate. Read more
Published 7 months ago by myrsias
Good content, poor edition
This book appeals to things I already knew, as a 'historically informed' performer myself with an existing preference for anything other than equal temperament. Read more
Published 8 months ago by M Walton
Read with caution!
If you are completely happy with the current western 'Equal Temperament' method of tuning, and think that it's perfect, then perhaps you shouldn't read this book, as it will change... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mr Clifford
No images on kindle edition
This comment is purely about the kindle for iPad edition. As far as I can see there is no warning in the product description that the iPad edition has no images, a fact I only... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Marcus
why music doesn't add up
Music, I was led to believe, is a supremely elegant manifestation of pure mathematics. The intervals we know as fifths (think "Twinkle - twinkle"), fourths (Auld lang syne), and... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Michael Gross
All musicians should read this important book
For many years now the musical world has had many writers buzzing away in the background trying to tell us that Equal Temperament is not the reality of music. Read more
Published on 10 April 2010 by T. Dwyer
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