Meantone 1/4 Comma vs. Meantone 1/3 Comma
Compare the tuning characteristics of Meantone 1/4 Comma and Meantone 1/3 Comma — cent deviations per note, practical guidance, and historical context.
At a Glance
| Feature | Meantone 1/4 Comma | Meantone 1/3 Comma |
|---|---|---|
| Category | meantone | meantone |
| Formula Type | fractional-comma | fractional-comma |
| Historical Era | Renaissance / Early Baroque | Renaissance / Baroque |
| Key Advantage | Pure major thirds (5:4) in the most common Renaissance/Baroque keys. | Pure minor thirds (6:5) — better suited to minor-mode Renaissance music. |
| Key Limitation | A dissonant wolf fifth (between G# and Eb) makes enharmonic keys unusable. | Wider wolf fifth and less pure major thirds than quarter-comma meantone. |
| Typical Use | Renaissance and early Baroque keyboard music in flat-key signatures. | Renaissance music with emphasis on minor thirds and minor-key tonality. |
Cent Deviations: All 12 Notes vs. Equal Temperament
Positive cents = sharper than equal temperament. Negative = flatter. Difference column shows Meantone 1/3 Comma minus Meantone 1/4 Comma: positive means Meantone 1/3 Comma is sharper.
| Note | Meantone 1/4 Comma (¢) | Meantone 1/3 Comma (¢) | Difference (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|
| C4 | +10.27 | +15.64 | +5.38 |
| Db4 | -13.78 | -20.86 | -7.08 |
| D4 | +3.42 | +5.21 | +1.79 |
| Eb4 | +20.53 | +31.28 | +10.75 |
| E4 | -3.42 | -5.21 | -1.79 |
| F4 | +13.69 | +20.86 | +7.17 |
| Gb4 | -10.36 | -15.64 | -5.29 |
| G4 | +6.84 | +10.43 | +3.59 |
| Ab4 | -17.20 | -26.07 | -8.87 |
| A4 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Bb4 | +17.11 | +26.07 | +8.96 |
| B4 | -6.84 | -10.43 | -3.59 |
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 Meantone 1/3 Comma when:
Choose Meantone 1/3 Comma 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 Meantone 1/3 Comma 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
- Meantone 1/3 Comma
- Developed by Francisco de Salinas (1577) — Renaissance / Baroque era
Compare Temperaments in Tunable — Get Tunable.
Tunable supports Meantone 1/4 Comma, Meantone 1/3 Comma, and 16 other tuning systems. Hear the difference in real-time as you play.
