Topmusicanswers
Use Just Intonation for double stops and for chords in string quartets. Pianos are tuned in equal temperament. Violinists should only adjust to piano pitches if both instruments are playing the same pitch for a long duration. Intonation is one of your most powerful musical tools.
- Do violins use just intonation?
- Is just intonation equal temperament?
- How out of tune is equal temperament?
- Is just intonation better?
Do violins use just intonation?
There are two other systems of tuning common on the violin – just intonation and expressive intonation. The Pythagorean theory of intervals creates a situation where open fifths and octaves sound correct, but in a scale built solely on Pythagoras' ratios, intervals such as thirds and sixths might sound 'out of tune.
Is just intonation equal temperament?
The "equal tempered scale" was developed for keyboard instruments, such as the piano, so that they could be played equally well (or badly) in any key.
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Just vs Equal Temperament (and related topics)
| Interval | Ratio to Fundamental Just Scale | Ratio to Fundamental Equal Temperament |
|---|---|---|
| Octave | 2.0000 | 2.0000 |
How out of tune is equal temperament?
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. Nothing is perfect; nothing is terrible.
Is just intonation better?
“Better sharp than out of tune.” Just intonation is, many believe, a more “pure” way of tuning and offers greater timbral and sonic possibilities than equal-temperament—the de facto form of intonation in Western music today. ...
