The Lookout
Evan Martschenko
A Comparison and Analysis of Different Tuning Systems and Temperaments and Their Use in the Baroque Period Evan Martschenko Over the centuries, the world of western music has used many different tuning systems, mathematical organizations of notes within an octave. Each system has the capability to drastically change the music that they are being used in through expressive differences in color and feeling that varied scales can bring about. Thus, tuning systems have become topics of debate for musicologists and performers for centuries and were under constant reassessment and modification until the early 20th century (Duffin, 2007, p. 112). An edited tuning system is known as a temperament — it is important to note that the terms “tuning system” 10 and “temperament”11 are not interchangeable, though often they are incorrectly used as synonyms (Barbour, 2004, p. 5). These everinteresting topics dominate the modern performance of older music today, certainly not excluding Baroque music. This paper will serve as an analysis and introduction to the commonly used tuning systems and temperaments, and their pertinence to Baroque music. This paper will be written with the expectation that the reader understands basic musical terminology but is entirely new to tuning. Early on, a few crucial topics and terms will be explained that the
reader must understand before reading the remainder of the paper. Every term will be defined when it is first used in the paper, as well as in a glossary on page 18 for ease of reference. For the sake of relevance to the reader, the tuning systems will all be compared to equal temperament, as it is most familiar to the modern ear. Therefore, equal temperament will quickly be explained first before the other tunings and revisited later on in more depth. A brief timeline of tunings and their use will be provided for each tuning alongside the scientific and sonic aspect of each system. A chart with important intervals will accompany the tuning systems and temperaments examined in the paper, and an appendix on page 18 will have a large amalgamation of each smaller chart. Additionally, each system and temperament will be explained in its relevance to period instruments, particularly keyboard instruments, and its effect on Baroque history and the modern practice of Baroque music.
10 Tuning System — A mathematical organization of notes within an octave.
11 Temperament — An edit to a pre-existing tuning system, slightly adjusting an established system.
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On the Issue of Tuning While the true origin of the musical scale and musical intervals is unknown, it is clearly linked to what is known as the harmonic series. This is a natural phenomenon in which a wavelength halves itself over and over
