Rousseau II
Distinctive French Baroque character with gentle key coloring suited to Couperin and Rameau.
Quick Facts
- Creator
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- Historical Era
- Baroque
- Formula Type
- cent-offsets
- Key Advantage
- Distinctive French Baroque character with gentle key coloring suited to Couperin and Rameau.
- Key Limitation
- Less common than German well-temperaments; limited modern documentation.
- Typical Use
- French Baroque keyboard music, organ works, and clavecin repertoire.
Mathematical Basis
This well temperament distributes the Pythagorean comma unevenly across the circle of fifths, giving pure or near-pure intervals in closely-related keys while making distant keys progressively more tempered.
Sound Character
Rousseau II Frequency Table — All 12 Notes at A4=440Hz
| Note | Equal Temp. (Hz) | Rousseau II (Hz) | Cents from Equal | Tunable Offset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C4 | 261.626 | 263.142 | +10.00 | 0 |
| Db4 | 277.183 | 275.857 | -8.30 | -18.3 |
| D4 | 293.665 | 294.174 | +3.00 | -7 |
| Eb4 | 311.127 | 310.624 | -2.80 | -12.8 |
| E4 | 329.628 | 328.867 | -4.00 | -14 |
| F4 | 349.228 | 350.846 | +8.00 | -2 |
| Gb4 | 369.994 | 368.076 | -9.00 | -19 |
| G4 | 391.995 | 393.356 | +6.00 | -4 |
| Ab4 | 415.305 | 413.868 | -6.00 | -16 |
| A4 | 440.000 | 440.000 | 0.00 | -10 |
| Bb4 | 466.164 | 467.188 | +3.80 | -6.2 |
| B4 | 493.883 | 491.890 | -7.00 | -17 |
Frequencies in Hz at A4=440Hz. Positive cents = sharper than equal temperament. Negative = flatter. Formula: f = f_equal × 2(cents/1200)
Tunable Offset shows the cent values in Tunable's custom temperament format (C=0 reference). To enter this temperament manually: Settings → Tuner → Alternate Temperament → Add → enter these 12 values.
Historical Context
Rousseau II originates from the Baroque era, developed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It was primarily used for French Baroque keyboard music, organ works, and clavecin repertoire..
Who Uses Rousseau II Today
Tune with Rousseau II — Get Tunable.
Tunable supports Rousseau II and 17 other tuning systems including equal temperament, Pythagorean, just intonation, and well temperaments. See exact Hz values in real-time as you play.
