[Dixielandjazz] Sarah Vaughan

[Joe Carbery]

I became aware of differences in tuning when singing. A pianist I played
with liked to finish a tune by playing I - bVI7-I. If we were in the key of
C, that would be C-Ab-C. If I held the note C, I could feel a physical
"pull" in my larynx when the Ab chord was played, even though the note C
was the same. My instincts were that the note was not the same over an Ab
chord. When the chord of C was again sounded, the tension in my larynx
resolved.
Joe Carbery.

On Tue, Nov 19, 2019 at 12:13 PM philwilking <philwilking at cox.net> wrote:

> That is an example of the difference between "Tempered" tuning and "Just"
> tuning.
>
> It happens because our nervous system does not really want to hear
> absolutely even percentage differences of frequency going from one tone to
> another, but a simple mechanical device can't be made to "tweak" tuning
> "on
> the fly" without becoming hopelessly complicated.
>
> So a G Sharp is really a very sharp G, but not quite up to halfway in
> frequency between G and A, and an A Flat is really a very flat A, but not
> quite down to halfway in frequency between A and G. So really, every time
> you modulate between keys, you should stop and retune all keyboard and
> fretted instruments. Good luck with that. In reality, adjacent keys in the
> cycle of fifths are only a teeny bit different in frequencies, so you can
> usually get away with sliding around between, for example, F, C, and G.
> But
> the farther afield you go from your base tuning (C in this case), the more
> out of pitch you sound.
>
> This is why some keyboard instruments such as harpsichords had multiple
> manuals. Each manual could have its own strings tuned to a given key.
>
> Even before J. S. Bach (died in 1750), efforts were underway to get around
> this problem. Eventually it was figured out that if you make all the
> sharps
> a tiny bit sharper and all the flats a tiny bit flatter, you can use one
> key
> or fret for both the G Sharp and the A Flat and so on. And most of the
> audience can't tell the difference. However, a good musician can hear it.
> The error gets worse the farther from the center of the keyboard you go.
>
> You can demonstrate it for yourself using a freshly tuned high quality
> piano
> or (better) a high quality electric keyboard which is set to "Equal
> Tempered
> Tuning."
> Strike any key which sounds in the middle of your voice range. Strike it
> several times to set the pitch in your mind. Now, starting on that pitch,
> sing the child's "I know more than you do" chant: "Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah,
> ny-ah, ny--ah." Try to find the last "Ny--ah" on the keyboard. The
> difference in pitch between your voice "Ny--ah" and the closest tone on
> the
> keyboard is the difference between "Just" and "Equal Tempered" tuning.
> Your
> nervous system, left to itself, will use its own frequency choices, not
> something designed for a machine.
>
> Phil Wilking - K5MZF
> www.nolabanjo.com
>
> "Only two things are infinite:
> the Universe and Human Stupidity.
> And I am not sure about the Former."
> Albert Einstein
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Robert Ringwald
> Sent: Monday, November 18, 2019 13:29
> To: philwilking
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Sarah Vaughan
>
> Ken,
>
> I've heard that there is a difference between an A flat and G sharp. Having
> never studied music theory, can you tell me what the difference is. I
> wonder
> if I could hear it.
>
>
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