On Wed, Oct 22, 2003 at 07:54:06AM -0600, James wrote:
>
> Likewise, I am increasingly skeptical about the utility of little books of
> instructions for setting temperaments.  If the "problem" is that there are
> harpsichord owners out there who are unable to tune their instruments, are
> those little books the "solution?"  Or are electronic tuners with meters
> the solution?  Or, as in the case of painting pictures, is it necessary to
> go someplace and study with a good teacher?

Just one data point: I am an amateur harpsichord-owner, and I learned my
tuning from a book, without a meter. The one time a technician has
visited my instrument, he was quite unhappy about most things, but
commented positively on the tuning, and seemed impressed when I told I
did it with just a fork and my ears.


> with Hendrik in a "workshop" on voicing, regulation, and tuning.  His
> advice on tuning was "use a meter."  That is probably the most practical
> solution for most amateurs.

It doesn't have to be either-or. My advice would be "use a meter, but
listen to what you are going".


> I would be skeptical about sailing with anyone who had acquired his
> navigational skills from reading a book, no matter which of the three
> methods he used, but I guess I would be most comfortable with
> GPS--until the machine stopped working.

Of course the best way, at least for this "scientific" navigation, would
have to be a solid theoretical understanding from book(s), combined with
lots of practice, first under the supervision of a good teacher. At
least that is the way I am learning navigation now, and I plan to be
good at it ;-)

Regards

  Heikki

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Heikki Levanto  LSD - Levanto Software Development   <[log in to unmask]>