Equal Temperament vs. Quarter-Comma Meantone
Compare the tuning characteristics of Equal Temperament and Quarter-Comma Meantone — cent deviations per note, practical guidance, and historical context.
At a Glance
| Feature | Equal Temperament | Quarter-Comma Meantone |
|---|---|---|
| Category | equal | meantone |
| Formula Type | equal-division | fractional-comma |
| Historical Era | Modern | Renaissance / Early Baroque |
| Key Advantage | All 12 keys are equally in-tune — transpose freely without re-tuning. | Pure major thirds (5:4) in the most common Renaissance/Baroque keys. |
| Key Limitation | Pure fifths (2 cents flat) and major thirds (14 cents sharp) are slightly impure in every key. | A dissonant wolf fifth (between G# and Eb) makes enharmonic keys unusable. |
| Typical Use | Standard tuning for all modern Western instruments since the 20th century. | Renaissance and early Baroque keyboard music in flat-key signatures. |
Cent Deviations: All 12 Notes vs. Equal Temperament
Positive cents = sharper than equal temperament. Negative = flatter. Difference column shows Quarter-Comma Meantone minus Equal Temperament: positive means Quarter-Comma Meantone is sharper.
| Note | Equal Temperament (¢) | Quarter-Comma Meantone (¢) | Difference (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|
| C4 | 0.00 | +10.26 | +10.26 |
| Db4 | 0.00 | -13.69 | -13.69 |
| D4 | 0.00 | +3.42 | +3.42 |
| Eb4 | 0.00 | +20.53 | +20.53 |
| E4 | 0.00 | -3.42 | -3.42 |
| F4 | 0.00 | +13.69 | +13.69 |
| Gb4 | 0.00 | -10.26 | -10.26 |
| G4 | 0.00 | +6.85 | +6.85 |
| Ab4 | 0.00 | -17.11 | -17.11 |
| A4 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Bb4 | 0.00 | +17.11 | +17.11 |
| B4 | 0.00 | -6.85 | -6.85 |
When to Choose Each
Choose Equal Temperament when:
Choose Equal Temperament for modern ensembles, fixed-pitch instruments (piano, guitar, wind instruments), and any music that modulates freely across all 24 keys. It is the universal standard for contemporary Western music.
Choose Quarter-Comma Meantone when:
Choose Quarter-Comma Meantone for Renaissance and early Baroque keyboard music. Its pure major thirds (5:4) give harpsichord and organ repertoire from 1500-1650 its characteristic warm, consonant sound.
Historical Context
Meantone temperaments dominated keyboard music from roughly 1500-1700, while Equal Temperament only became the universal standard around 1900. The 200-year transition from meantone to equal represents a deliberate trade-off: surrendering key color and pure thirds in exchange for unlimited modulation across all keys.
- Equal Temperament
- Developed by Theoretical development (12-TET standardized c. 1900) — Modern era
- Quarter-Comma Meantone
- Developed by Pietro Aaron (c. 1523) — Renaissance / Early Baroque era
Compare Temperaments in Tunable — Get Tunable.
Tunable supports Equal Temperament, Quarter-Comma Meantone, and 14 other tuning systems. Hear the difference in real-time as you play.
