Temperament: Difference between revisions

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The term '''temperament''' ~~most commonly refers to~~ a ~~[[regular temperament]]~~.

The term '''temperament''' is used in a number of distinct but related senses, depending on context.

~~For tuning systems in general~~, ~~see~~ [[tuning system]].

During the {{w|common practice period}}, the term ''temperament'' was used to describe a [[tuning system]] that slightly compromised the pure [[interval]]s of [[low-complexity just intonation]] to meet other requirements. Nowadays, a temperament in this sense can also be called a '''tempered tuning system''' (often shortened to '''tempered tuning''') to avoid any ambiguity, and it can be designed to approximate any set of pitches.

~~See also~~ [[~~well~~ temperament]].

In regular temperament theory, the term ''temperament'' usually refers to a [[regular temperament]], an abstract mathematical structure from which tempered tuning systems can be derived.

[[Category:~~Disambiguation pages~~]]

Specific kinds of temperaments, such as [[equal temperament]]s and [[well temperament]]s, can alternatively be viewed as standalone tuning systems or analyzed as specific tunings of regular temperaments.

== History ==

In Western music history, the first temperament to be described by theorists was the [[meantone]] temperament, in the beginning of the 16th century. It was developed in an attempt to solve some of the issues of the [[Pythagorean tuning]], the most commonly used tuning system until then. In particular, the pure fifths ([[3/2]]) are slightly compromised in order to obtain either pure major thirds ([[5/4]]), in [[quarter-comma meantone]], or slightly compromised major thirds in other meantone tunings. The linear structure of meantone has laid the foundations for the development of [[regular temperament theory]].

Later in the 16th century, other theorists proposed several [[equal temperament]]s, including [[12edo|12-tone equal temperament]] (12-TET), [[19edo|19-tone equal temperament]] (19-TET) and [[31edo|31-tone equal temperament]] (31-TET). Equal temperaments are now often called [[equal divisions of the octave]] (EDO or edo) in order to distinguish them from other [[equal tuning]]s with the same number of notes spanning an interval other than the [[octave]] ([[nonoctave]] tunings).

Because the previous systems have their own issues, a new kind of temperaments appeared in the 17th century: well temperaments. Their irregular structure allow for more flexibility in the way each note is tuned, and thus how each interval is compromised. As a result, most scales sound different when they are transposed to a different key.

== See also ==

* [[Historical temperaments]]

[[Category:Tuning]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The term '''temperament''' most commonly refers to a [[regular temperament]].
+{{Wikipedia|Musical temperament}}
+The term '''temperament''' is used in a number of distinct but related senses, depending on context.
-For tuning systems in general, see [[tuning system]].
+During the {{w|common practice period}}, the term ''temperament'' was used to describe a [[tuning system]] that slightly compromised the pure [[interval]]s of [[low-complexity just intonation]] to meet other requirements. Nowadays, a temperament in this sense can also be called a '''tempered tuning system''' (often shortened to '''tempered tuning''') to avoid any ambiguity, and it can be designed to approximate any set of pitches.
-See also [[well temperament]].
+In regular temperament theory, the term ''temperament'' usually refers to a [[regular temperament]], an abstract mathematical structure from which tempered tuning systems can be derived.
-[[Category:Disambiguation pages]]
+Specific kinds of temperaments, such as [[equal temperament]]s and [[well temperament]]s, can alternatively be viewed as standalone tuning systems or analyzed as specific tunings of regular temperaments.
+== History ==
+In Western music history, the first temperament to be described by theorists was the [[meantone]] temperament, in the beginning of the 16th century. It was developed in an attempt to solve some of the issues of the [[Pythagorean tuning]], the most commonly used tuning system until then. In particular, the pure fifths ([[3/2]]) are slightly compromised in order to obtain either pure major thirds ([[5/4]]), in [[quarter-comma meantone]], or slightly compromised major thirds in other meantone tunings. The linear structure of meantone has laid the foundations for the development of [[regular temperament theory]].
+Later in the 16th century, other theorists proposed several [[equal temperament]]s, including [[12edo|12-tone equal temperament]] (12-TET), [[19edo|19-tone equal temperament]] (19-TET) and [[31edo|31-tone equal temperament]] (31-TET). Equal temperaments are now often called [[equal divisions of the octave]] (EDO or edo) in order to distinguish them from other [[equal tuning]]s with the same number of notes spanning an interval other than the [[octave]] ([[nonoctave]] tunings).
+Because the previous systems have their own issues, a new kind of temperaments appeared in the 17th century: well temperaments. Their irregular structure allow for more flexibility in the way each note is tuned, and thus how each interval is compromised. As a result, most scales sound different when they are transposed to a different key.
+== See also ==
+* [[Historical temperaments]]
+[[Category:Tuning]]