back from K.C. David Andersens last

[Richard Brekne]

Hi David and all

I'm truly sorry all this comes to the list one more time, and as much 
for the fact that Bernard in spite of this kind of thing is no doubt a 
dedicated tuner and a creative mind. It is indeed sad that he ruins much 
of all with less then constructive attitudes.

But for the record let me just say this.  At root of all this seems to 
be the idea of using the 19th root of 3 to divide semitones from a 12ths 
perspective rather then what tuners have traditionally done with octaves 
and the 12th root of 2.  Additionally the fact that I employed this into 
a ETD file using Tunelab some 6 years ago now.  Actually... coming upon 
the idea of using 12ths and the 19th root of 3 is no major piece of 
brilliant mind work.  It is an extremely simple jump to make if anyone 
looks at the coincident partials used in relevant tests.  When one is 
living in a world of ETDs' it is equally simple minded to try and employ 
this idea using one.  Anyone who knows my tuning file knows how simple 
it is, and also knows that it is only a template since Bob Scott left 
the ability to construct such files directly out of all versions of 
tunelab since TL 97.  Jason Kanter has since come up with a way of doing 
much the same using Tunelab versions after however if anyone is interested.

Bernard evidently has done some in depth tuning mathematics way beyond 
what I did to justify this basic approach and has been advocating a 
P-12ths type of tuning for many years.   I still do not know the 
specifics of this and had absolutely no knowledge of it prior to his 
first appearance on the list where he made similar claims both with 
regard to authorship and the basic superiority of his tuning over all 
others.

Let me simply state one last time before I go on holiday.  My p-12ths 
tuning was developed on my own with no knowledge of others work on the 
subject... and indeed is a humble and simple piece of work compared to 
what I have since come to understand Bernards work was/is.  I have liked 
the P-12th idea ever since and have had a suspicion that many fine 
tuners like yourself  David have strong tendencies to tune in similar 
fashion using other tests.  But I would never ever presume to talk about 
the superiority of one tuning style over another.  The finest tuning in 
the world is always a result of the best execution of a well thought out 
plan... and nothing more. It is essentially how well you achieved what 
you set out to achieve.  And I would never dream of accusing another 
person of plagiarism without a shred of any real evidence. For that 
matter.. the idea of forcing people to pay for using a particular tuning 
style because <<I thought of it first>> is so foreign to me that it 
really belongs on some other planet.  If anyone wants to tune P12ths 
with an ETD they can do so freely on their own by direct referencing any 
of the presently available ETD's or by use of the tuning curve template 
I've supplied over these many years for Tunelab.

Now I'm going on holiday. Dismayed once more that the fine aspects of 
list participation are so easily overshadowed by the dark side of life.  
I actually do love this work of ours... and I delight in researching 
things unknown to me and making whatever contributions I can when ever I 
can.... freely and without thought of personal gain either monetary or 
otherwise.  Aristotlean leisure if you will.

Enjoy your summers and once again... sorry for this spectacle.

Best regards
Richard Brekne




    WHOA! How can you possibly say that? I have heard many great tunings,  
    all over the world, using all kinds of methods to arrive at beauty. I  
    could never let the above statement pass without challenge.

    My brother, that's going too far. Your tuning is beautiful, and I  
    respect your passion and desire to aspire to tuning excellence---but  
    to say that your temperament is superior to any  other can only  
    diminish and tarnish your perception in our community; there is no  
    "proof" as you speak of it, and your colleagues have and will take  
    offense and umbrage
    if you keep insisting there is.

    Let it rest; create beauty with your tunings, and your tuning  
    software, and let a hundred other flowers bloom.
    Life is too short for these kinds of trumped-up arguments and sturm  
    und drang.

    With best hope and intention,
    David Andersen

    P.S. This is my last word on this, so please feel free to remove my  
    name from the subject line if the thread continues.

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