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How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (And Why You Should Care). By
Ross W Duffin. W W Norton & Company, 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
10110; 212-790-4268; fax, 212-869-0856; wwwww...

Article  in  Music Educators Journal · January 2008

DOI: 10.1177/002743210809400312

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? How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (And Why You Should Care). By Ross W Duffin. W W
Norton & Company, 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110; 212-790-4268; fax, 212-869-0856;
wwwwwnorton.com. 2006. 196 pp. Black-and-white illustrations, music examples, appendixes, notes,
bibliography Hardcover, $25.95
Frank Martignetti
Music Educators Journal 2008 94: 51
DOI: 10.1177/002743210809400312

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http://mej.sagepub.com/content/94/3/51.1.citation

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municating with administration, and
garnering support for music educa-
tion. His advocacy argument centers
on Howard Gardner’s 1983 Theory
of Multiple Intelligences, which
Lisk also uses as a context and
justification for his Alternative
Rehearsal Techniques.
Edward Lisk’s reputation as a direc-
tor, clinician, adjudicator, and author
is highly praised by many music edu-
cators, and his publication history is
impressive. Unfortunately in his latest
book, a key word is missing from the
title: the word &dquo;band.&dquo; From the title,
the reader would reasonably expect to
receive information applicable to all
conductors. In fact, the book focuses
solely on band, and while some ideas
can be applicable in a variety of ven-
ues, much is specific only for the
school band director.
The other concerns with this publi-
cation are the age of some of the theo-
ries and research (some almost twen-
ty-five years old) and the frequent
citing from his other books, which
makes the reader feel that this book
might not contain any new informa-
tion but be a compilation of recycled
materials from Lisk’s other books.
—Kellie D. Brown,
music department chair,
Milligan College, Tennessee,
kbrown@milligan.edu
Equal Temperament Ruined
▪ How
Harmony (And Why You Should Care).
By Ross W Duffin. W W Norton &
Company, 500 Fifth Avenue, New
York, NY 10110; 212-790-4268; fax,
212-869-0856; wwwwwnorton.com.
2006. 196 pp. Black-and-white illus-
trations, music examples, appendixes,
notes, bibliography Hardcover, $25.95.
In this concise, accessible book,
Ross Duffin challenges the hegemony
of equal temperament. Like many top-
ics in music history, it is tempting to
view the dominance of equal tempera-
ment (ET) through an evolutionary
lens, and hold that the compromise it
represents is the best solution to
dividing the octave. The author points
out that this view has held sway large-
ly because multiple generations of
musicians and listeners have heard ET
almost exclusively. Duffin, an early-
music scholar, demonstrates that
other tunings can be more effective
Downloaded from mej.sagepub.com at Bobst Library, New York University on July 24, 2011
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than ET in certain respects, and that, this book at a summer workshop, I
even after ET was quite common, had to fend off colleagues who wanted
many fine performers continued to to borrow it-a sure sign of its appeal
choose other tunings. to a broad audience.
The author makes a compelling —Frank Martignetti,
case against the common practice, of choral activities,
director
championed by Pablo Casals, among University of Bridgeport, Connecticut;
others, of raising leading tones. and director of music,
Although it makes good sense melod- High School in the Community,
ically, harmonically, this practice is New Haven, Connecticut;
neither sound music history nor fmartign@bridgeport.edu
sound physics-which demand, in
fact, lowered leading tones. Duffin ▪ Late Thoughts: Reflections on
spends the next few chapters tracing Artists and Composers at Work.
the history of tuning systems, drawing Edited Karen Painter and Thomas
by
amply on primary sources, including Crow. Getty Research Institute,
1200
pedagogical treatises and the writings Getty Center Drive, Suite 500, Los
of instrument builders and tuners. Angeles, CA 90049-1682; 800-223-
One of his more entertaining anec- 3431; www.gettyedu. 2006. 235 pp.
dotes involves George Bernard Shaw, Color plates, black-and-white illustra-
who, in a review, unfavorably com- tions, music figures, index. Paper-
pared the playing of the violinist back, $40.00
Joseph Joachim to &dquo;an attempt to grate Late Thoughts: Ref lections on Artists
a nutmeg effectively on a boot sole&dquo;’ and Composers at Work is a collection
(p. 124). In a later review, Shaw real- of essays concerning the possible
ized that the reason he had dismissed changes in work, philosophical
the virtuoso was because he was using stance, and focus artists may
a tuning unfamiliar to Shaw-con- encounter as they approach the end of
vincing evidence that renowned per- their lives. Although the topic for each
formers chose to use different tunings painter, sculptor, architect and com-
as late as 1890. poser is the same, each author
The author persuasively synthe- approached his or her subject in a
sizes a wide variety of information, unique and interesting way, as befits
drawn from music history, pedagogy, the unique contribution and charac-
and criticism as well as acoustics to teristic of each artist.
make his case. Concluding, Duffin In her opening essay, &dquo;On
declares that &dquo;we need to look again at Creativity and Lateness,&dquo; Karen
the tuning systems used by the great Painter examines the idea of matura-
composers and performers through- tion and aging as it has changed
out history This is not mere histori-
...
through time and what expectations
cism it represents the choice that
... these ideas have created concerning
musicians of these times made them- an artist’s last works. The themes
selves in an effort to present their across disciplines and artists remain
music the way it sounded best to inconsistent, indicating there is no
them&dquo; (p. 148). &dquo;late style&dquo; that can be identified as a
There is little here that would be blanket term to describe an artist’s
new to scholars of temperament, but work.
his accessible synthesis is very valu- The concept of style as it applies to
able for performers and teachers. a particular artist appears to be
Several sidebars readily explain cer- attached by the person perceiving the
tain topics in further detail and profile work, often after the artist is gone.
several prominent figures from his Some works discarded or left incom-
narrative. Duffin makes liberal use of plete by the artist can be misinterpret-
helpful diagrams and illustrations, ed or manipulated in ways that would
many drawn from historical sources; have shocked or amused the artist. In
the cartoons included, however, are the essays, the authors clearly attempt
neither necessary nor terribly funny to cut through the layers of conjecture
Overall, How Equal Temperament and discern the artists’ true identity at
Ruined Harmony is edifying, providing the end of life, warts and all.
much food for thought. While reading Interestingly, Willem de Kooning’s
51