Comments on: The Concert of Craziness, Part II: The Well-Tuned Guitar http://www.thelisteningblog.com/2008/08/the-concert-of-craziness-part-ii-the-well-tuned-guitar/ “Listen all the time, and remind yourself when you’re not listening, or else the mike and the tape recorder will get the best of you.” – Pauline Oliveros Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:08:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: ryan fleming http://www.thelisteningblog.com/2008/08/the-concert-of-craziness-part-ii-the-well-tuned-guitar/comment-page-1/#comment-276 ryan fleming Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:55:00 +0000 http://ajtesttest.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/the-concert-of-craziness-part-ii-the-well-tuned-guitar/#comment-276 I have found this article to be one of your most interesting posts here on "The Listening Blog". I actually read over Kyle Gann's website and really enjoyed it.<br/><br/>It was very interesting to see how many cents each just toned interval was from the equal tempered interval. For example, in a C major scale, the major third is an E. Since a major third is four half steps above the root, this means that an E is 400 cents above a C. However, in just intonation, the major third is a 5/4 ratio to the root (or equivalently 386 cents). I found this interesting because I remember in marching band, whenever a major chord was played, the director said to lower the third. I never knew the meaning behind this altering of the tuning in the chord. But I now understand that the director was trying to take an intstrument playing the third at 400 cents and lower it to the "better" sounding 386 cents used in just intonation. By the way, this is also the reason for having a tuning slide located on the first valve of a trumpet (to manually alter the tuning of certain notes.)<br/><br/>Very interesting stuff!! I have found this article to be one of your most interesting posts here on “The Listening Blog”. I actually read over Kyle Gann’s website and really enjoyed it.

It was very interesting to see how many cents each just toned interval was from the equal tempered interval. For example, in a C major scale, the major third is an E. Since a major third is four half steps above the root, this means that an E is 400 cents above a C. However, in just intonation, the major third is a 5/4 ratio to the root (or equivalently 386 cents). I found this interesting because I remember in marching band, whenever a major chord was played, the director said to lower the third. I never knew the meaning behind this altering of the tuning in the chord. But I now understand that the director was trying to take an intstrument playing the third at 400 cents and lower it to the “better” sounding 386 cents used in just intonation. By the way, this is also the reason for having a tuning slide located on the first valve of a trumpet (to manually alter the tuning of certain notes.)

Very interesting stuff!!

]]> By: Courtney http://www.thelisteningblog.com/2008/08/the-concert-of-craziness-part-ii-the-well-tuned-guitar/comment-page-1/#comment-275 Courtney Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:40:00 +0000 http://ajtesttest.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/the-concert-of-craziness-part-ii-the-well-tuned-guitar/#comment-275 Dang that was the one of the more tripped out guitars I've ever seen! (I would just go out and say most tripped out, but I'm really not into commital/black&white statements right now... I go through phases... hmmm) Pretty awesome. Thanks for sharing.<br/><br/>C Dang that was the one of the more tripped out guitars I've ever seen! (I would just go out and say most tripped out, but I'm really not into commital/black&white statements right now… I go through phases… hmmm) Pretty awesome. Thanks for sharing.

C

]]> By: Darth_Harbison http://www.thelisteningblog.com/2008/08/the-concert-of-craziness-part-ii-the-well-tuned-guitar/comment-page-1/#comment-274 Darth_Harbison Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:09:00 +0000 http://ajtesttest.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/the-concert-of-craziness-part-ii-the-well-tuned-guitar/#comment-274 This may be a somewhat ignorant question, as I have absolutely no idea how long the guitar has been around/widely used, but . . . you said that equal temperament has been the standard since the 19th century . . . was just intonation the norm prior to that? And do the two go beyond guitars (and similar instruments) into music at large, or are they fairly limited?<br/><br/>I thought that the guitar in the video seemed to sound more "classical" (in the layman sense of the word, not the technical musical sense) than I'm used to hearing guitars sound . . . is that because of the music he's playing, because of the just intonation, or both? (Or is it because I was conditioned by your post to expect such a thing?) This may be a somewhat ignorant question, as I have absolutely no idea how long the guitar has been around/widely used, but . . . you said that equal temperament has been the standard since the 19th century . . . was just intonation the norm prior to that? And do the two go beyond guitars (and similar instruments) into music at large, or are they fairly limited?

I thought that the guitar in the video seemed to sound more “classical” (in the layman sense of the word, not the technical musical sense) than I’m used to hearing guitars sound . . . is that because of the music he’s playing, because of the just intonation, or both? (Or is it because I was conditioned by your post to expect such a thing?)

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