Quarter-Comma Meantone vs. Sixth-Comma Meantone
Compare the tuning characteristics of Quarter-Comma Meantone and Sixth-Comma Meantone — cent deviations per note, practical guidance, and historical context.
At a Glance
| Feature | Quarter-Comma Meantone | Sixth-Comma Meantone |
|---|---|---|
| Category | meantone | meantone |
| Formula Type | fractional-comma | fractional-comma |
| Historical Era | Renaissance / Early Baroque | Baroque |
| Key Advantage | Pure major thirds (5:4) in the most common Renaissance/Baroque keys. | Compromise between equal and quarter-comma: better key flexibility with acceptable thirds. |
| Key Limitation | A dissonant wolf fifth (between G# and Eb) makes enharmonic keys unusable. | Major thirds less pure than quarter-comma; wolf fifth still present but narrower. |
| Typical Use | Renaissance and early Baroque keyboard music in flat-key signatures. | Late Baroque keyboard music where some modulation is needed alongside pure-ish thirds. |
Cent Deviations: All 12 Notes vs. Equal Temperament
Positive cents = sharper than equal temperament. Negative = flatter. Difference column shows Sixth-Comma Meantone minus Quarter-Comma Meantone: positive means Sixth-Comma Meantone is sharper.
| Note | Quarter-Comma Meantone (¢) | Sixth-Comma Meantone (¢) | Difference (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|
| C4 | +10.26 | +6.85 | -3.41 |
| Db4 | -13.69 | -9.65 | +4.04 |
| D4 | +3.42 | +1.96 | -1.46 |
| Eb4 | +20.53 | +13.69 | -6.84 |
| E4 | -3.42 | -3.42 | 0.00 |
| F4 | +13.69 | +8.80 | -4.89 |
| Gb4 | -10.26 | -6.85 | +3.41 |
| G4 | +6.85 | +4.89 | -1.96 |
| Ab4 | -17.11 | -11.60 | +5.51 |
| A4 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Bb4 | +17.11 | +11.73 | -5.38 |
| B4 | -6.85 | -4.89 | +1.96 |
When to Choose Each
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.
Choose Sixth-Comma Meantone when:
Choose Sixth-Comma Meantone when you need meantone warmth but access to a slightly wider range of keys. Its compromise between pure thirds and usable distant keys suits mid-Baroque repertoire.
Historical Context
Both Quarter-Comma Meantone and Sixth-Comma Meantone belong to the meantone family of temperaments, which dominated keyboard music from roughly 1500-1700. They differ in how much of the syntonic comma is distributed across the circle of fifths, giving each a slightly different balance between third purity and usable key range. Composers including Frescobaldi, Byrd, and early Bach likely encountered both.
- Quarter-Comma Meantone
- Developed by Pietro Aaron (c. 1523) — Renaissance / Early Baroque era
- Sixth-Comma Meantone
- Developed by Giuseppe Tartini and Baroque theorists (c. 1750) — Baroque era
Compare Temperaments in Tunable — Get Tunable.
Tunable supports Quarter-Comma Meantone, Sixth-Comma Meantone, and 14 other tuning systems. Hear the difference in real-time as you play.
