Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site cubsvax.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!cmcl2!rocky2!cubsvax!peters From: peters@cubsvax.UUCP Newsgroups: net.music Subject: Re: Tempered scales Message-ID: <178@cubsvax.UUCP> Date: Thu, 8-Mar-84 09:49:17 EST Article-I.D.: cubsvax.178 Posted: Thu Mar 8 09:49:17 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 10-Mar-84 09:18:33 EST References: <6082@decwrl.UUCP> Organization: Columbia Univ Biology, New York City Lines: 16 Just a followup to the subject of temperment. It is easy (technically) for vocalists and players of unfretted string instruments to play in just temperment (the natural harmonic scale). I used to sing (many years ago) in the Renaissance Chorus of N. Y. (anyone out there remember it?), and our director used to spend great amounts of time trying to make us sing natural harmonic intervals. When you "lock in" to a perfect unison, octave, fourth, or fifth, there's a resonance effect -- a diminution of the effort to sing the note -- that's almost euphoric. Problem is, most people with musical training have grown up with the piano and the well-tempered scale. Those people had a lot more trouble singing true intervals, and doing it without vibrato, so that the director found it easier to work with people with only minimal prior training. {philabs,cmcl2!rocky2}!cubsvax!peters Peter S. Shenkin Dept of Biol. Sci.; Columbia Univ.; New York, N. Y. 10027; 212-280-5517