Scan 62
The American history and encyclopedia of music .., 1908
8 lines. Read by computer on 8 September 2026. Printed page 42. See the scan on archive.org.
1notes of the diatonic scale except when the interval is only a semitone, the chromatic scale would consist of seventeen tones instead of twelve as it now does. They would be C, C sharp, D flat, D, D sharp, E flat, E, F, F sharp, G flat, G, G sharp, A flat, A, A sharp, B flat, B. It is true that in order to simplify the scale into the twelve notes it was necessary to put many of the intervals out of tune, the interval of the octave remaining in its theoretical perfection. However, equal temperament distributes these unavoidable inaccuracies in tuning among the twelve chromatic tones in such a way that although no one of them is perfectly pure the deviations do not offend the ear.
3Johann Sebastian Bach appreciated the great practicability of equal temperament and in 1722 there appeared his famous Wohltemperirte Clavier which contained twenty-four preludes and fugues, each one having been written in one of the major and minor keys of the twelve chromatic scales. It was a wonderful and most valuable demonstration of the manner in which the scales could be used after equal temperament had been applied to them. The new tuning opened opportunities for variety in composition that had hitherto been closed, for in the old theoretically correct tuning the music could only be written in the few keys in which a limited number of chromatic notes were employed.
5It has so far been found impracticable to furnish keyboard instruments with seventeen keys in the interval of an octave. If it were done the keyboard would be so extensive that the fingers of the performer could not cover a range of notes nearly as great as is now possible. Thus it is that equal temperament has made it possible for these instruments to become as generally useful as they now are. This tuning is as perfect as our musical system requires, as has been proved by the thorough test which it has undergone for the past two centuries.
7Only an exceptionally trained ear can distinguish between equal tuning and theoretically correct tuning. The exactly pure tones can be produced only by the voice or with
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