Meantone 1/4 Comma vs. 1/6 SC - Attenuated
Compare the tuning characteristics of Meantone 1/4 Comma and 1/6 SC - Attenuated — cent deviations per note, practical guidance, and historical context.
At a Glance
| Feature | Meantone 1/4 Comma | 1/6 SC - Attenuated |
|---|---|---|
| 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 1/6 SC - Attenuated minus Meantone 1/4 Comma: positive means 1/6 SC - Attenuated is sharper.
| Note | Meantone 1/4 Comma (¢) | 1/6 SC - Attenuated (¢) | Difference (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|
| C4 | +10.27 | +4.80 | -5.47 |
| Db4 | -13.78 | +13.00 | +26.78 |
| D4 | +3.42 | +1.70 | -1.72 |
| Eb4 | +20.53 | +9.80 | -10.73 |
| E4 | -3.42 | -1.60 | +1.82 |
| F4 | +13.69 | +6.50 | -7.19 |
| Gb4 | -10.36 | +14.60 | +24.96 |
| G4 | +6.84 | +3.20 | -3.64 |
| Ab4 | -17.20 | +11.40 | +28.60 |
| A4 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Bb4 | +17.11 | +8.10 | -9.01 |
| B4 | -6.84 | -3.30 | +3.54 |
When to Choose Each
Choose Meantone 1/4 Comma when:
Choose Meantone 1/4 Comma for Baroque keyboard music, Renaissance organ, and harpsichord repertoire where pure or near-pure thirds are the primary consonance.
Choose 1/6 SC - Attenuated when:
Choose 1/6 SC - Attenuated for Baroque keyboard music, Renaissance organ, and harpsichord repertoire where pure or near-pure thirds are the primary consonance.
Historical Context
Both Meantone 1/4 Comma and 1/6 SC - Attenuated 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.
- Meantone 1/4 Comma
- Developed by Pietro Aaron (c. 1523) — Renaissance / Early Baroque era
- 1/6 SC - Attenuated
- Developed by Baroque theorists — Baroque era
Compare Temperaments in Tunable — Get Tunable.
Tunable supports Meantone 1/4 Comma, 1/6 SC - Attenuated, and 16 other tuning systems. Hear the difference in real-time as you play.
