Bach-Lehman Temperament vs. Young Temperament
Compare the tuning characteristics of Bach-Lehman Temperament and Young Temperament — cent deviations per note, practical guidance, and historical context.
At a Glance
| Feature | Bach-Lehman Temperament | Young Temperament |
|---|---|---|
| Category | well-temperament | well-temperament |
| Formula Type | cent-offsets | cent-offsets |
| Historical Era | Baroque | Classical |
| Key Advantage | All keys in the WTC are singularly in tune; key characters precisely match Baroque affect theory. | Gentle key color with pure-leaning thirds in flat-side keys; very playable in all keys. |
| Key Limitation | The reconstruction remains debated — not universally accepted as Bach's intended tuning. | Modest key character differences may feel too uniform for some Baroque repertoire. |
| Typical Use | Well-Tempered Clavier and Bach keyboard works performed with historical awareness. | Classical and Romantic keyboard music; frequently cited in tuning comparisons. |
Cent Deviations: All 12 Notes vs. Equal Temperament
Positive cents = sharper than equal temperament. Negative = flatter. Difference column shows Young Temperament minus Bach-Lehman Temperament: positive means Young Temperament is sharper.
| Note | Bach-Lehman Temperament (¢) | Young Temperament (¢) | Difference (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|
| C4 | +5.87 | +7.82 | +1.95 |
| Db4 | +3.91 | +1.96 | -1.95 |
| D4 | +1.96 | +1.96 | 0.00 |
| Eb4 | +3.91 | +9.78 | +5.87 |
| E4 | -1.96 | -1.96 | 0.00 |
| F4 | +7.82 | +5.87 | -1.95 |
| Gb4 | +1.96 | 0.00 | -1.96 |
| G4 | +3.91 | +5.87 | +1.96 |
| Ab4 | +3.91 | +1.96 | -1.95 |
| A4 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Bb4 | +5.87 | +7.82 | +1.95 |
| B4 | -1.96 | -1.96 | 0.00 |
When to Choose Each
Choose Bach-Lehman Temperament when:
Choose Bach-Lehman Temperament for Baroque keyboard repertoire spanning multiple keys — especially works that tour the circle of fifths. Its varied key color gives each tonality a distinctive musical character.
Choose Young Temperament when:
Choose Young Temperament for Baroque keyboard repertoire spanning multiple keys — especially works that tour the circle of fifths. Its varied key color gives each tonality a distinctive musical character.
Historical Context
Both Bach-Lehman Temperament and Young Temperament are well temperaments from the Baroque era, designed to make all 24 major and minor keys usable while preserving key-specific color. Both emerged as alternatives to meantone that allowed performance of works like Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier without re-tuning. They differ in how the Pythagorean comma is distributed across the circle.
- Bach-Lehman Temperament
- Developed by Bradley Lehman reconstruction (2005), attributed to J.S. Bach — Baroque era
- Young Temperament
- Developed by Thomas Young (1800) — Classical era
Compare Temperaments in Tunable — Get Tunable.
Tunable supports Bach-Lehman Temperament, Young Temperament, and 14 other tuning systems. Hear the difference in real-time as you play.
