Don't take that mean tone with me!

Dare I? Do I actually dare to go into the deep and complex world of meantone tuning? Kind of... yeah. And I only say kind of because I am NOT going to try and explain the math of it. It gets too messy and as a musician, I don't completely understand it myself. However, of the various ways to tune a piano, some of the least common are through meantone tunings. Your meantone (the middle tone) is going to be pure with the root. When this refers the middle tone, it doesn't mean the middle of a scale, but instead the middle of a chord triad. We're talking music theory now. But only a little.

In the middle of a major chord triad is a third. That is to say a note that is two whole steps from the root. In equal temperament tunings, your octave is what needs to have purity. But in meantone tunings, it's your third that must be pure to the root. Pretty simple right? Not so fast...

Now we get into the pythagorean mathematics of it all. I am so bad at math that it is likely that there's no such thing as pythagorean mathematics and I'm just saying something that sounds good because it will make sense in the context of meantone tuning. I say it because there is a such thing as a pythagorean tuning method. With it, the fifths are pure, not the thirds. In meantone tuning, your thirds are going to be pure and your fifths are going to be off by just a bit. The type of meantone tuning is defined by just how "off" your fifth is going to be. This is known as the syntonic comma. And, this is where that potentially made up math term comes in. I assure you, the math is NOT made up. Just the term I'm using to describe it.

We have 1/4 comma meantone, 1/3 comma meantone, and 1/6 comma meantone. This is the ratio of the syntonic comma we're throwing that fifth off by. Confused. So am I. If you are a math genius and want to dive deep into the syntonic comma, just know that the ratio of one is 81/80. Take that and run with it. For piano tuners, we have a couple of options when asked to tune a piano using meantone tuning. We can either tune aurally and focus on the purity of that third, tuning the fifth until it sounds good in comparison, or we can tune using an ETD (electronic tuning device) that can do the math for us and get us those syntonic comma ratios. Can a tuner get them aurally? Maybe. I know for a fact that I can't and seems like something only a tonal genius can achieve. But the math of this was created long before ETD's were a thing... so maybe.

So, what is meantone used for and why choose it over equal temperament? It all comes down to play style. If you are a pianist that plays wide when performing (jumping around octaves, rarely touching thirds except as a step on a long journey), then equal temperament is definity for you. In fact, that's why it's standard tuning as fancy piano playing is usually the goal of anyone learning. However, the learning process or those who love to stick to triads when playing could benefit from meantone tuning. Having purity in your thirds can make for better sounding practice sessions. Plus, there's plenty of people who can play piano like a master that do so playing close (Lots of triads, 7ths, and 9ths.)

In the end, meantone tuning isn't really necessary, regardless of your play style. Because of the popularity of equal temperament, most people are accustom to that sound anyway. Even if you play close, equal temperament will sound fine and the beats of your thirds and fifths are just going to a part of your piano's personality. But, if you really want your piano to completely match you and your playstyle, you can consider the other styles of tuning... more styles will be mentioned in future blogs. Stay tuned!