Scarecrow Press
Pages: 248
Trim: 6 x 8½
978-0-8108-5438-3 • Paperback • October 2005 • $62.00 • (£48.00)
Thomas Donahue is a musician and instrument builder. He is author of The Modern Classical Organ, Gerhard Brunzema: His Work and His Influence (Scarecrow, 1998), and Anthony Newman: Music, Energy, Healing Spirit (Scarecrow, 2000).
Part 1 Foreword
Part 2 Preface
Part 3 Part 1: Main Material
Chapter 4 1. The Basis for Temperament
Chapter 5 2. Selected Temperaments
Chapter 6 3. Musical Aspects
Chapter 7 4. Generating Tuning Instructions
Chapter 8 5. The Tuning Process
Chapter 9 6. Instructions for Setting Selected Temperaments
Chapter 10 7. A Historical Overview
Part 11 Part 2: Supplementary Material
Chapter 12 8. Starting Notes, Pitch References, and Transposition
Chapter 13 9. Theoretical and Equal-Beating Versions
Chapter 14 10. Near-Equal Temperament
Chapter 15 11. Derivation of the Cent Equation
Chapter 16 12. Temperament Data
Chapter 17 13. Temperament Spreadsheets
Chapter 18 14. Instructions in Musical Notation
Part 19 Glossary
Part 20 Bibliography
Part 21 Index
Part 22 About the Author
...an excellent overview to the subject of musical temperament....This is a great book for any keyboard performer to investigate....This useful volume is highly recommended to all musicians and should be included in the music division of colleges and universities libraries.
— American Reference Books Annual
...a convenient introduction in English to this important topic....a good survey of musical temperament.
— The American Organist
The writing is practical, and no space is wasted on mere numerology....I have checked much of Donahue's arithmetic and not found any errors....No one who wants to understand temperaments should be in any doubt about how much systematic work is required, but Thomas Donahue's book goes a long way towards making it as easy and rewarding as it can be.
— The British Clavichord Society Newsletter
Donahue, a musician and instrument builder, presents a handbook for keyboardists who tune their own instruments, such as the harpsichord, clavichord, and fortepiano. He explains the tuning process and related issues, historical factors, and theories including frequency, ratios, cents, fixed intonation, and the harmonic series. Sixteen temperaments are discussed and compared in detail. The second half of the book is a reference for specifics such as near-equal temperament, derivation of the cent equation, and has temperament data, spreadsheets, and instructions in musical notation.
— Reference and Research Book News