Customer Reviews

A Performer's Guide Through Historical Keyboard Tunings

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This book is unique in that it is oriented towards both the informational needs of pianists and organists and the practical needs of those who specialize in playing the harpsichord and fortepiano. Beginning with his 1978 book of the same title, the author has completely revised both the text and the tuning recipes, and has added substantial new information to reflect important research from the last decade. He begins again with a short, performer's-eye view of the history of Western keyboard tuning (capsuled even further in a 2-page flow chart), gives brief recommendations for general tuning practice, and then outlines his recipes for 5 representative tunings: 2 meantone temperaments (the 1/4-comma and 1/6-comma varieties), 2 circulating or "well" temperaments (again with divisions of the comma by quarters and sixths), and an equal temperament substitute.

This might seem like enough for a handbook, but at this point, we're only on page 37, with 43 more pages to go before we reach the back cover. Filling this space are two appendices (the first, a parallel chronology of noteworthy historia regarding Pythagorean Tuning, Meantone Temperament, Well Temperament, and Equal Temperament; the second, a do-it-yourself guide to fashioning tuning recipes) and an annotated bibliography of 43 primary and secondary sources.

The reason the book has more backmatter than text is because the author wanted to fashion a book that would be of value both to beginners in tuning and those already experienced. The former need a short, easy-to-grasp text which doesn't burden them unduly or make tuning seem too formidable to approach. The latter, on the contrary, need greater information and more detail. Placing the advanced material in backmatter suggests, by format, that it is not essential to a basic understanding so novices will be able to 'get tuning' without getting bogged down. Advanced tuners, on the other hand, won't have to wade through the early pages of elementary information to get to specific details and more advanced topics which interest them."

Through this dual focus, A Performer's Guide Through Historical Keyboard Tunings offers both a quick and easy introduction to its topic and, in its parallel chronology, a constant reference and source of perspective for use in conjunction with further reading. Its bibliography not only directs the reader to both authoritative and controversial sources of further information, but makes those sources more accessible through its annotations. In addition, Appendix II's step-by-step instructions for fashioning tuning recipes break completely new ground in giving readers a methodology for transforming tunings they may encounter in other sources into practical schemes they can tune and use on their own instruments.

This book is not out of print or subject to limited availability and may be purchased direct from Anderson Press by writing to 706 West Davis, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103.