Werckmeister III vs. Werckmeister V

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

At a Glance

Feature	Werckmeister III	Werckmeister V
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.	Even-handed key color distribution — more uniform than Werckmeister III.
Key Limitation	Simpler keys are purer than remote keys; not the brightest choice for remote tonality.	Less key color contrast; some find it insufficiently distinctive for Baroque repertoire.
Typical Use	Baroque keyboard music, particularly works exploiting key color contrasts.	Baroque keyboard music where a milder well-temperament character is preferred.

Cent Deviations: All 12 Notes vs. Equal Temperament

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

Note	Werckmeister III (¢)	Werckmeister V (¢)	Difference (¢)
C4	+11.73	+5.87	-5.86
Db4	+1.96	+1.96	0.00
D4	+3.91	+7.82	+3.91
Eb4	+13.69	+3.91	-9.78
E4	-1.96	-1.96	0.00
F4	+9.78	+3.91	-5.87
Gb4	0.00	0.00	0.00
G4	+7.82	+7.82	0.00
Ab4	+3.91	-1.96	-5.87
A4	0.00	0.00	0.00
Bb4	+11.73	+3.91	-7.82
B4	-1.96	+1.96	+3.92

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 V when:

Choose Werckmeister V 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 V 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 V: Developed by Andreas Werckmeister (1691) — Baroque era