Temperament naming: Difference between revisions

A temperament name should be a common noun (thus written in lowercase), ideally consisting of a single word. This contrasts scales of a temperament, e.g. Machine[6], as well as concrete scales, e.g. Centaur. This convention of naming temperaments was first proposed in 2012<ref>[https://yahootuninggroupsultimatebackup.github.io/tuning/topicId_105566.html Yahoo! Tuning Group | ''Naming Convention Suggestion'']</ref>.  

Below are explained some notable features of naming which might otherwise be confusing to beginners of RTT.  

With a few exceptions, a name of a comma implies an eponymous temperament that tempers out the comma alone and vice versa, in which case we consider it an official common name. A description, or descriptive name, is an alternative, typically longer, term that conveys some additional information at the cost of lacking in uniqueness. For example, 225/224 is named the ''marvel comma'', and tempering it out results in the marvel temperament. Meanwhile, it has a descriptive name ''septimal kleisma'' that perhaps dates back to earlier times.  

A name can be shared by a temperament as well as its [[strong extension]]s. For example, meantone was defined in the 5-, 7-, and 11-limit, each temperament in the higher limit being a strong extension to the ones in the lower limit. The reason is sometimes you get the higher-limit intervals "for free" when using the lower-limit temperament, in which case we consider extending the temperament this way the ''canonical extension''. Whether an extension is canonical or not depends on a lot of factors, but in general:  

* Only the best and most obvious extension is canonical;

* If a temperament does not have an obvious extension, or has multiple competing extensions, none of them is canonical;

* [[Weak extension]]s are never canonical since their structures are very different.

It is often useful to investigate the implied full-prime-limit temperament as well as the subgroup temperaments for a comma, especially in the higher limits where there is a shift of interest towards the subgroups. The following practice was established around 2022–2023 when many higher-limit commas were getting named: if a comma is named the "''X''-isma", then the temperament which tempers out the ''X''-isma in the minimal [[prime subgroup]] containing that comma should be named "''X''-ic" and the temperament which tempers out the ''X''-isma in the minimal [[prime limit]] containing that comma should be named "''X-''ismic". However, that was not the only pattern in use. Below is tabulated all the widely observed and established patterns.

 

 

A comma page should ideally always include a mention of both the minimal-prime-subgroup and full-prime-limit temperaments. The temperaments and obvious and/or strong extensions may be discussed either there or on linked-to dedicated pages.  

Therefore, if one finds oneself at an impasse, refer to this work in progress section and see how many bullet points are in favour of a name or rename. With that said, every rename proposal must have at least one ''strong reason''. The only time it is acceptable for it not to is if the previous name has very little or no usage and the rename does not cause friction (e.g. the recent proposer wants to change the name and there are no objections).

If there are external references (outside of the wiki) beyond the mere proposal of the name, previous names may stay on the wiki for historical purposes, but should be moved out of the spotlights (lead section, infobox, etc.) to avoid the potential interpretation that these names are equally common/standard. It is important to note however that ''if'' there is nothing particularly wrong with the old name, then it is ''standard and common'' to let the old name coexist with the new name with the spirit that people can use whatever name they prefer.

If, however, a name has received enough usage outside the wiki that a rename would be ''significantly'' inconvenient and confusing and/or if there is a very large amount of usage on the wiki so that many people may have seen and remembered the previous name, the previous name should be mentioned in passing towards the beginning of the page for clarity / to avoid confusion and for historical purposes. The only exception to this rule is if the name is NSFW, in which case it should be at the very least moved out of the spotlights if not removed entirely.

== References ==