Who will save your sol's?
  • incantuincantu
    Posts: 989
    Will the fluid piano put an end to the tyranny of equal temperment?
  • Charles in CenCA
    Posts: 2,416
    I thought the "tyranny of equal temperment" was considered a virtue by all Englishmen. Or have I been misreading Fr. Hunwicke the whole tone, I mean time.
    Halfway through I gave up trying to accept the instrument as a piano, fluid or not.
    Eric Whitacre'll prob'ly buy one, though.
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,605
    There is a strike point on the string that, if not accurately placed, changes the tone of the string...if you strike on a node, it messes up the harmonics of the string...so you can get "perfect tuning" but will then have imperfect tonal results...meaning that as you play up as scale there will be a marked difference in the tones...since this system is set up on a lightly strung instrument more like an early fortepiano, the flaws might not be as noticeable as they would be on a modern strung grand.

    When he slides the tuner up the string he is changing the strike point where the hammer meets the string.

    There are some digital tuning systems on keyboards that automatically adjust tonality so that all intervals are pure within the framework of the chord progression. There's no way it could be adapted to work on a pipe organ though.
  • JamJam
    Posts: 636
    I saw this the other day and am VERY EXCITED about it! I love Byzantine chant and other forms of Eastern music and am tired of Western ears telling me that beautiful music is "out of tune" because they're not used to other kinds of scales.

    This instrument is, of course, merely a prototype, and I'm sure still needs a lot of technical work. But the idea is absolutely lovely, and I'm praying that it revolutionizes music, making all kinds of wonderful things more accessible to the general public.
  • Charles in CenCA
    Posts: 2,416
    Despite my weak entendre above, Jam, I am incorrect in thinking that this truly interesting innovative instrument would have no home in Byzantine liturgical praxis?
  • JamJam
    Posts: 636
    Oh, of course not. Orthodox churches hardly ever use instruments. The only ones we use I can think of are hand cymbals with the Copts and drums with the Ethiopians. Also, some Greek churches use organs due to Western influence, but a lot of us don't like it very much. :/ The only reason I mentioned Byzantine chant is because I'm talking about a whole different world of scales which the West doesn't use.

    I'm not talking about using this thing liturgically, but rather for concerts and performances, as well as professional recordings. It'll give musicians so many more options now, so much more music to choose from!
  • incantuincantu
    Posts: 989
    Not even a groan for the bad pun? Sheesh... we must all be stressed preparing for Christmas!
Add a Comment