Tag: Railsback curve

Editorial illustration: a grand piano keyboard receding into deep shadow with a faint glowing ring of twelve arcs above it that almost closes but leaves one bright golden gap, evoking the Pythagorean comma in equal temperament tuning.

Why Can’t a Piano Be Perfectly Tuned?

A piano can never be perfectly tuned: twelve pure fifths overshoot seven octaves by 23.46 cents, so equal temperament spreads that error evenly. Here is what the compromise buys.

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