Keyboard Settings

3 Select a root by pressing one of the keys in the range

 

About Temperaments

 

 

shown in the illustration below. Remember to keep

 

● Equal Temperament

 

the SETTING button depressed.

 

 

 

This tuning system is the most widely used for keyboard

 

• The note for the keyboard key you press is applied as

 

 

 

musical instruments in the world today. The octave is

 

the root. If you press key F5, for example, the root

 

divided into 12 semitones that are equal in frequency ratio.

 

becomes F.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With this system, you can perform in all the major and

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

minor keys without any adjustment. Though we take this

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

system for granted these days, it was a revolutionary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

development in the history of music. Equal Temperament

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tuning has been the most common system used in the

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

world since the middle of the 18th Century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

F￿4

 

 

 

 

F5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

● Kirnberger III

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• No sound is produced when the keys are pressed.

 

 

 

This is also one of the precursors to equal temperament.

 

• When Baroque Pitch (page E-31) is ON, the root is a

 

It is an evolution of just intonation and the mean-tone

 

half-note higher than the key you press. This means

 

system, and all keys (from C-major to F￿-major) can be used

 

that to set a root of C, you should press B4.

 

for keyboard play.

4 Release the SETTING button to exit temperament

 

● Werckmeister

 

setting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Werckmeister is a famous theorist who also did research

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

on equal temperament. This particular system is said to

NOTE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

be a precursor to equal temperament, and all keys (from

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C-major to F￿-major) can be used for keyboard play.

•

If you select the temperament only without specifying

 

 

the root in the above procedure, the root automatically

 

● Mean-Tone System

 

becomes C.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This system was the first actually used for tuning of

•

Temperament root settings are not affected when you

 

 

keyboard musical instruments. It was widely used starting

 

change the Transpose setting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

from the Renaissance up until the second half of the 18th

•

The keys you should press to set the root in step 3 of

 

 

Century. During the days of Handel and Bach, it was

 

the above procedure are fixed. They are not affected by

 

 

 

employed for cembalos, organs, and pianos.

 

transpose settings, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

● Pythagorean System

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This system was developed by the philosopher Pythagoras

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sometime during the 5th Century B.C. Most of the fifths

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

in this system do not deviate from the “pure” (acoustically

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

correct) intervals. The Pythagorean system is perfect within

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a small range of tones and in the simple keys, but it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

becomes inadequate in others. Despite this, this system

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

was used for Middle Age religious music, which was

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

performed (sung) using only the simple keys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

● Just Intonation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This system is one of the “pure” systems in which many

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

of the fifths and thirds are acoustically correct. Try setting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the root to C and playing C, E, G.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

E-30

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