Shifted Vallotti/Young's Well
Gentle key color combining Vallotti and Young characteristics; very playable in all keys.
Quick Facts
- Creator
- Hybrid of Vallotti and Young temperaments
- Historical Era
- Baroque / Classical
- Formula Type
- cent-offsets
- Key Advantage
- Gentle key color combining Vallotti and Young characteristics; very playable in all keys.
- Key Limitation
- Modest key character differences may feel too uniform for some Baroque repertoire.
- Typical Use
- Baroque and Classical keyboard music seeking a balanced well-temperament.
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
Well temperaments feature varied key color: keys near C major sound purer and more consonant, while distant keys (many sharps or flats) have more harmonic tension and a brighter, more chromatic character. This gives each key a distinctive musical affect, making well temperaments particularly suited to multi-key keyboard repertoire.
Shifted Vallotti/Young's Well Frequency Table — All 12 Notes at A4=440Hz
| Note | Equal Temp. (Hz) | Shifted Vallotti/Young's Well (Hz) | Cents from Equal | Tunable Offset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C4 | 261.626 | 262.565 | +6.20 | 0 |
| Db4 | 277.183 | 277.215 | +0.20 | -6 |
| D4 | 293.665 | 294.004 | +2.00 | -4.2 |
| Eb4 | 311.127 | 311.847 | +4.00 | -2.2 |
| E4 | 329.628 | 329.228 | -2.10 | -8.3 |
| F4 | 349.228 | 350.461 | +6.10 | -0.1 |
| Gb4 | 369.994 | 369.588 | -1.90 | -8.1 |
| G4 | 391.995 | 392.924 | +4.10 | -2.1 |
| Ab4 | 415.305 | 415.785 | +2.00 | -4.2 |
| A4 | 440.000 | 440.000 | 0.00 | -6.2 |
| Bb4 | 466.164 | 467.782 | +6.00 | -0.2 |
| B4 | 493.883 | 493.313 | -2.00 | -8.2 |
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
Shifted Vallotti/Young's Well originates from the Baroque / Classical era, developed by Hybrid of Vallotti and Young temperaments. It was primarily used for Baroque and Classical keyboard music seeking a balanced well-temperament..
Well temperaments emerged in the Baroque era as practical compromises between meantone purity and equal temperament flexibility. J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier (1722) may have been composed with a specific well temperament in mind.
Who Uses Shifted Vallotti/Young's Well Today
Well temperaments are used today by harpsichordists, fortepiano players, and historically-informed keyboard performers. Many period instrument specialists choose specific well temperaments to match the repertoire being performed.
Tune with Shifted Vallotti/Young's Well — Get Tunable.
Tunable supports Shifted Vallotti/Young's Well and 17 other tuning systems including equal temperament, Pythagorean, just intonation, and well temperaments. See exact Hz values in real-time as you play.
