# Temperament

A temperament is a decision about where to put the comma. Pythagorean tuning keeps eleven fifths pure and puts the whole comma in the last one, which sounds so out of tune that it is called the wolf. Meantone tunings narrow the fifths further so that the major thirds are pure, which suited Renaissance music beautifully. The well temperaments of Bach's time spread the comma unevenly, so each key had its own colour. Equal temperament, the modern piano tuning, makes every fifth two cents narrow, so all keys sound alike.

Connects to:
- [The Pythagorean comma](https://mapideas.org/i/mu_comma)
- [Twelve notes](https://mapideas.org/i/mu_twelve)
- [Maqām and makam](https://mapideas.org/i/mu_maqam)
- [Gamelan and ombak](https://mapideas.org/i/mu_gamelan)

Sources:
- [Wikipedia: Equal temperament](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_temperament)
- [What is music? Module 5, tuning and temperament and Lab 5a](https://sofiagallego.com/what-is-music/)

Source: https://mapideas.org/i/mu_temper · open on the map: https://mapideas.org/#mu_temper