X-Nico

unusual facts about meantone



34 equal temperament

Unlike divisions of the octave into 19, 31 or 53 steps, which can be considered as being derived from ancient Greek intervals (the greater and lesser diesis and the syntonic comma), division into 34 steps did not arise 'naturally' out of older music theory, although Cyriakus Schneegass proposed a meantone system with 34 divisions based in effect on half a chromatic semitone (the difference between a major third and a minor third, 25/24 or 70.67 cents).

St. Cecilia Cathedral

A unique feature of the organ is the option of playing 29 of the stops in either meantone or Wegscheider well-tempered tuning (the remaining stops being well-tempered).


see also