Quarter-Comma Meantone vs. Werckmeister III
Compare the tuning characteristics of Quarter-Comma Meantone and Werckmeister III — cent deviations per note, practical guidance, and historical context.
At a Glance
| Feature | Quarter-Comma Meantone | Werckmeister III |
|---|---|---|
| Category | meantone | well-temperament |
| Formula Type | fractional-comma | cent-offsets |
| Historical Era | Renaissance / Early Baroque | Baroque |
| Key Advantage | Pure major thirds (5:4) in the most common Renaissance/Baroque keys. | All 24 major and minor keys are playable — each key has a distinct character. |
| Key Limitation | A dissonant wolf fifth (between G# and Eb) makes enharmonic keys unusable. | Simpler keys are purer than remote keys; not the brightest choice for remote tonality. |
| Typical Use | Renaissance and early Baroque keyboard music in flat-key signatures. | Baroque keyboard music, particularly works exploiting key color contrasts. |
Cent Deviations: All 12 Notes vs. Equal Temperament
Positive cents = sharper than equal temperament. Negative = flatter. Difference column shows Werckmeister III minus Quarter-Comma Meantone: positive means Werckmeister III is sharper.
| Note | Quarter-Comma Meantone (¢) | Werckmeister III (¢) | Difference (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|
| C4 | +10.26 | +11.73 | +1.47 |
| Db4 | -13.69 | +1.96 | +15.65 |
| D4 | +3.42 | +3.91 | +0.49 |
| Eb4 | +20.53 | +13.69 | -6.84 |
| E4 | -3.42 | -1.96 | +1.46 |
| F4 | +13.69 | +9.78 | -3.91 |
| Gb4 | -10.26 | 0.00 | +10.26 |
| G4 | +6.85 | +7.82 | +0.97 |
| Ab4 | -17.11 | +3.91 | +21.02 |
| A4 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Bb4 | +17.11 | +11.73 | -5.38 |
| B4 | -6.85 | -1.96 | +4.89 |
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 Werckmeister III when:
Choose Werckmeister III 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 Quarter-Comma Meantone (developed by Pietro Aaron (c. 1523)) and Werckmeister III (developed by Andreas Werckmeister (1691)) emerged from the Renaissance / Early Baroque and Baroque periods respectively. Each represents a distinct solution to the fundamental problem of keyboard tuning: how to distribute the Pythagorean comma across the circle of fifths.
- Quarter-Comma Meantone
- Developed by Pietro Aaron (c. 1523) — Renaissance / Early Baroque era
- Werckmeister III
- Developed by Andreas Werckmeister (1691) — Baroque era
Compare Temperaments in Tunable — Get Tunable.
Tunable supports Quarter-Comma Meantone, Werckmeister III, and 14 other tuning systems. Hear the difference in real-time as you play.
