Definitions for equal temperament
equal tem·per·a·ment

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. equal temperamentnoun

   the division of the scale based on an octave that is divided into twelve exactly equal semitones

   "equal temperament is the system commonly used in keyboard instruments"

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Equal temperament

   An equal temperament is a musical temperament or tuning system, which approximates just intervals by dividing an octave (or other interval) into equal steps. This means the ratio of the frequencies of any adjacent pair of notes is the same, which gives an equal perceived step size as pitch is perceived roughly as the logarithm of frequency.In classical music and Western music in general, the most common tuning system since the 18th century has been twelve-tone equal temperament (also known as 12 equal temperament, 12-TET or 12-ET; informally abbreviated to twelve equal), which divides the octave into 12 parts, all of which are equal on a logarithmic scale, with a ratio equal to the 12th root of 2 (12√2 ≈ 1.05946). That resulting smallest interval, 1⁄12 the width of an octave, is called a semitone or half step. In Western countries the term equal temperament, without qualification, generally means 12-TET. In modern times, 12-TET is usually tuned relative to a standard pitch of 440 Hz, called A440, meaning one note, A, is tuned to 440 hertz and all other notes are defined as some multiple of semitones apart from it, either higher or lower in frequency. However, the standard pitch has not always been 440 Hz; it has varied considerably and generally risen over the past few hundred years.Other equal temperaments divide the octave differently. For example, some music has been written in 19-TET and 31-TET, while the Arab tone system uses 24-TET. Instead of dividing an octave, an equal temperament can also divide a different interval, like the equal-tempered version of the Bohlen–Pierce scale, which divides the just interval of an octave and a fifth (ratio 3:1), called a "tritave" or a "pseudo-octave" in that system, into 13 equal parts. For tuning systems that divide the octave equally, but are not approximations of just intervals, the term equal division of the octave, or EDO can be used. Unfretted string ensembles, which can adjust the tuning of all notes except for open strings, and vocal groups, who have no mechanical tuning limitations, sometimes use a tuning much closer to just intonation for acoustic reasons. Other instruments, such as some wind, keyboard, and fretted instruments, often only approximate equal temperament, where technical limitations prevent exact tunings. Some wind instruments that can easily and spontaneously bend their tone, most notably trombones, use tuning similar to string ensembles and vocal groups.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. equal temperament

   Equal temperament is a musical tuning system which divides any octave into a series of equal steps or intervals. This means that the frequency ratio between every adjacent pair of notes is constant. It allows for music to be transposed into different keys without changing the relationship between notes. The most commonly used form of equal temperament in modern western music is called twelve-tone equal temperament (12-TET), which divides the octave into 12 equal parts.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Equal temperament

   An equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning, in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. As pitch is perceived roughly as the logarithm of frequency, this means that the perceived "distance" from every note to its nearest neighbor is the same for every note in the system. In equal temperament tunings, an interval – usually the octave – is divided into a series of equal steps. For classical music, the most common tuning system is twelve-tone equal temperament, inconsistently abbreviated as 12-TET, 12TET, 12tET, 12tet, 12-ET, 12ET, or 12et, which divides the octave into 12 parts, all of which are equal on a logarithmic scale. It is usually tuned relative to a standard pitch of 440 Hz, called A440. Other equal temperaments exist, but in Western countries when people use the term equal temperament without qualification, they usually mean 12-TET. Equal temperaments may also divide some interval other than the octave, a pseudo-octave, into a whole number of equal steps. An example is an equal-tempered Bohlen–Pierce scale. To avoid ambiguity, the term equal division of the octave, or EDO is sometimes preferred. According to this naming system, 12-TET is called 12-EDO, 31-TET is called 31-EDO, and so on.

Matched Categories

1. • Temperament

How to pronounce equal temperament?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say equal temperament in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of equal temperament in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of equal temperament in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=equal temperament
2. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_Temperament
3. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
4. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=equal temperament