Werckmeister III vs. Werckmeister IV

Compare the tuning characteristics of Werckmeister III and Werckmeister IV — cent deviations per note, practical guidance, and historical context.

At a Glance

Feature	Werckmeister III	Werckmeister IV
Category	well-temperament	well-temperament
Formula Type	cent-offsets	cent-offsets
Historical Era	Baroque	Baroque
Key Advantage	All 24 major and minor keys are playable — each key has a distinct character.	Smoother key transitions compared to Werckmeister III; less dramatic key color.
Key Limitation	Simpler keys are purer than remote keys; not the brightest choice for remote tonality.	Less frequently used historically; key character less pronounced than Werckmeister III.
Typical Use	Baroque keyboard music, particularly works exploiting key color contrasts.	Experimental Baroque repertoire and comparative well-temperament studies.

Cent Deviations: All 12 Notes vs. Equal Temperament

Positive cents = sharper than equal temperament. Negative = flatter. Difference column shows Werckmeister IV minus Werckmeister III: positive means Werckmeister IV is sharper.

Note	Werckmeister III (¢)	Werckmeister IV (¢)	Difference (¢)
C4	+11.73	+7.82	-3.91
Db4	+1.96	-5.87	-7.83
D4	+3.91	+3.91	0.00
Eb4	+13.69	+1.96	-11.73
E4	-1.96	-3.91	-1.95
F4	+9.78	+9.78	0.00
Gb4	0.00	-7.82	-7.82
G4	+7.82	+1.96	-5.86
Ab4	+3.91	-1.96	-5.87
A4	0.00	0.00	0.00
Bb4	+11.73	+9.78	-1.95
B4	-1.96	-5.87	-3.91

When to Choose Each

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.

Choose Werckmeister IV when:

Choose Werckmeister IV 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 Werckmeister III and Werckmeister IV are well temperaments from the Baroque era, designed to make all 24 major and minor keys usable while preserving key-specific color. Both emerged as alternatives to meantone that allowed performance of works like Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier without re-tuning. They differ in how the Pythagorean comma is distributed across the circle.

Werckmeister III: Developed by Andreas Werckmeister (1691) — Baroque era
Werckmeister IV: Developed by Andreas Werckmeister (1691) — Baroque era