Hi GrapesOfWrath


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<ul><hr>On 2002-08-28 10:08, dwhite wrote:
To my ear at least, from root C, the pitch of 1.259921 (2^(4/12)) sounds a better major third than 1.25 (5/4) either melodically or harmonically.
<hr>[/list]However, I'm pretty sure that studies of musicians playing, for instance, violins, showed that they were hitting the 5/4 rather than not--when they did not have to match some tempered instrument.

So, your personal preference is probably an oddball one--not that there's anything wrong with that, but I wouldn't use that as a basis for a theory that tempered notes are natural, or better sounding in general.

<hr>[/list]You make a very strong case, and as I have said previously, I'm still not 100% sure.
Now this is only a theory, so don't jump on this, but maybe the violins used in any experiment were wavering, and they presumed that they were playing 1.25 instead of 1.259 (perhaps by taking the trough of the wave instead of the middle or peak).
Also, it could've been that maybe the violionists were /aiming/ for chords which didn't beat rather than for what actually sounded best.
Finally, perhaps the violinists involved didn't quite hit the exact pitch that they should have done anyway.