Re: Just Tuning for Wurlitzer 150
By Bill Finch
This is a fun subject which I've followed with great interest and some amusement. From experience, the idea of keeping a Band Organ in tune long enough to appreciate the difference between even tempered or unequal tempered scales is amusing in itself. The modern (equal tempered) scale is based on the idea that each octave is doubled in frequency and that the intervals between octaves are made up of intervals (notes) each increased by the 12th root of 2. This system for tuning organs began in 1683 and by 1854 all organs were tuned to this even tempered scale. Untempered intervals are still used only in harmonic mixtures where multiple harmonically related pipes make up individual notes. This creates acoustical equivalent of a fourier synthesis of individual pipe waveforms into a complex waveform that sound different from the individual pipes. Gavioli adapted the equal tempered scale in 1887. Bruder adapted the equal tempered scale in 1899. Much (or possibly most) of the band organ builders in the US (the North Tonawanda groups) learned from Bruder. I have no doubt that one can tune a 150 scale organ by some of the unequal tempered scales but the difference from equal tempered tuning will hardly be noticed after about 30 minutes of play, and certainly not after moving the organ to a rally site. I suspect that any tuning 150 scale organs to an unequal tempered scale was practiced out of convenience. All one needed was a starting note reference and the rest was done by ear. I really doubt that this was done because it somehow sounded better. Most of the tuners that I know now use electronic (equal tempered) aids as a reference. Just thought I would add my 2 cents worth ...
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(Message sent Sat 30 Nov 1996, 04:51:47 GMT, from time zone GMT-0800.) |
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