Tuning and Temperament: A Historical Survey

"An important and long-needed book written by the man best qualified."--The Musical Quarterly. The difficulties of tuning (attaining the perfect scale) and temperament (the necessary mathematical compromises for composition) have challenged musicians from the earliest civilizations onward. This guide surveys these longstanding problems, devoting a chapter to each principal theory and offering a running account of the complete history of tuning and temperament. Its value as a reference is enhanced by a glossary and index. Unabridged republication of the edition published by Michigan State College Press, East Lansing, Michigan, 1953.