Re: Intervals enharmony question

[Hans Åberg]

> On 1 May 2018, at 10:34, David Kastrup <address@hidden> wrote:
> 
> Hans Åberg <address@hidden> writes:
> 
>>> On 1 May 2018, at 00:42, J Martin Rushton
>> 
>>> For a lot of earlier music it can be difficult to know if "flauto" is a
>>> flauto dolce (sweet flute - recorder) or a flauto transvero (sp?).
> 
> More like flauto traverso.  The terminal "o" makes obvious that we are
> talking about Italian rather than Latin, and "trans" did not retain all
> of its letters there.
> 
>> It was a claim about J.S. Bach, who seemed to favor more expressive
>> instruments. But performers of recorders are nowadays good.
> 
> Paid performers.  Recorder performances are a thing in primary school
> contexts already.

The recorders used in schools are an idea from Carl Orff, with the idea that it 
is inexpensive. Therefore, one made a modern recorder tuning that should be 
simpler, but without the capacity of the Baroque tuning. But, as it turn out, 
it is a bad instrument to start playing when little, because the fingers 
motoric is not fully developed. So that got the recorder a bad reputation 
instead.

> I remember some performance from secondary school where a pair of prim
> girls were playing, I think, a duet on soprano recorder (I don't even
> think an alto was involved) from some booklet, with the intonation to be
> expected and everybody clapped politely.  The proceeded to WHEEEEEEEE
> blow out their mouthpieces, then played another piece.  WHEEEEEEE.  And
> another.  WHEEEEEEE.  I think they proceeded to murder the whole
> booklet.  WHEEEEEEE.  Probably not more than 20 pieces or so.  WHEEEEEE.

Give thanks to Carl Orff for that.