112 Reply to the Rev. Mr. Smyth on Tunmg 
« is nothing more than to know how to play a tune right, 
which, when once learnt by heart right, will be the repeti- 
tion over again,” &c. p. 3.1797. Ihave besides met with 
some tuners who were ignorant even of the possible num- 
ber of common chords. And as this is the case pretty ex- 
tensively, I suspect; and as they are seldom musicians, and 
capable of judging of any other effects of a chord than its 
smoothness or roughness; surely their opinions and practice 
are of little weight, when poised against those of such ex- 
perienced musicians as Rameau, Marpurg, Kirnberger, Koll- 
mann, &c.; not to mention philosophers, again. Mr. S. 
has declared to us that he is no philosopher, and yet, im- 
mediately after, he savs it is possible to raise philosophicad 
doubts whether areal equal temperament has ever been 
heard. It is not easy to answer his question respecting 
that temperament on the organ: I can only say, that t 
once heard one tuned by a monochord to that system ; and 
T remember that [ thought the harmony not very pleasing. 
If I find leisure at some future period, I design to try that 
system on my organ, which is well contrived for experi- 
ments of this nature. It was built by my father about four- 
teen years ago; and every metal pipe, except the very’small 
ones, has a short tin slider, in the upper extremity, for 
the purpose of adjusting it to the pitch requireds He made 
this addition to the pipes, in consequence of an ignorant 
tuner’s having cut them too short for the common pitch, 
Mr.Smythb has said that, if | had stated my favourite system 
of temperament, it should have been submitted to exami- 
nation. That, perhaps, } should have done, could I have 
perceived what are his principles for judging of the relative 
value of different systems. Are they the following? 
«© y. The greater the number is of true fifths the worse is 
the temperament ; for then the small number of fifths, be- 
tween which the Pythagorean comma is divided, become 
less supportable. 
«© 9, The case is the same, if the Pythagorean comma is 
more unequally divided. 
«© 3, The worst temperaments are those wherein some 
fifths are tempered sharp, because then some other fifths 
wil} support, besides the Pythagorean comma, the excess of 
the sharpened fifths*.” Chladni, § 28. : 
The same author observes, that ** As in every thing there 
is one sole truth and an infiaity of errors, so there is 
* I quote this from a translation, in manuscript, of Dr. Chladni’s last 
Treatise on Acoustics, Svo- 
only 
