How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony

Ross W. Duffin presents an engaging and elegantly reasoned expose of musical temperament and its impact on the way in which we experience music. An historical narrative, a music theory lesson, and, above all, an impassioned letter to musicians and listeners everywhere, "How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony" possesses the power to redefine the very nature of our interactions with music.For nearly a century, equal temperament - the practice of dividing an octave into twelve equally proportioned half-steps - has held a virtual monopoly on the way in which instruments are tuned and played. Duffin explains how we came to rely exclusively on equal temperament and along the way, he challenges the widely held belief that equal temperament is a perfect, 'naturally selected' musical system, and proposes a radical re-evaluation of how we play and hear music.

ISBN 0393334201   Pages 208 ISBN13 9780393334203 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher WW Norton & Co   Weight (grammes) 178 Imprint WW Norton & Co   Published in New York Format Paperback   Height (mm) 208 Publication date 31 Oct 2008   Width (mm) 142 Library of Congress ML1309   Spine width (mm) 13 DEWEY 784.1928   Academic level General DEWEY edition DC22

"[Duffin's] fine book should make any contemporary musician think differently about tuning." Steven Poole, The Guardian "[A] handy little book..." Stephen Pettitt, The Sunday Times "...explains the theory and gives an informative and readable historical account..." The Times Higher Education Supplement "...Duffin argues his case with great verve and charm." Michael Downes, The Times Literary Supplement"

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