Topmusicanswers
- What are the keys of temperament?
- Is well temperament the same as equal temperament?
- Is equal temperament out of tune?
- What does well tempered mean in music?
What are the keys of temperament?
"Temperament refers to the various tuning systems for the subdivision of the octave," the four principal tuning systems being Pythagorean tuning, just intonation, mean-tone temperament, and equal temperament.
Is well temperament the same as equal temperament?
Well temperament represented a departure from the various meantone tunings that were used in earlier music. ... Equal temperament is appropriate for some music of the 20th century, especially atonal music, and music based on the whole tone scale, but not for the works of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Is equal temperament out of tune?
One of those tunings was already known to the ancients: equal temperament. Here the poison is distributed equally through the system: The distance between each interval is mathematically the same, so each interval is equally in, and slightly out of, tune.
What does well tempered mean in music?
As used in the 17th century, the term "well tempered" meant that the twelve notes per octave of the standard keyboard were tuned in such a way that it was possible to play music in all major or minor keys that were commonly in use, without sounding perceptibly out of tune.
