the division of the scale based on an octave that is divided into twelve exactly equal semitones; "equal temperament is the system commonly used in keyboard instruments
Modification of the intervals of just intonation in the tuning of instruments of fixed intonation to permit harmonic modulation. It allows one to modulate to or play in any of the 12 major or 12 minor keys
Your temperament is your basic nature, especially as it is shown in the way that you react to situations or to other people. His impulsive temperament regularly got him into difficulties She was furtive and vicious by temperament
an adjustment of the intervals (as in tuning a keyboard instrument) so that the scale can be used to play in different keys excessive emotionalism or irritability and excitability (especially when displayed openly)
The peculiar physical and mental character of an individual, in olden times erroneously supposed to be due to individual variation in the relations and proportions of the constituent parts of the body, especially of the fluids, as the bile, blood, lymph, etc
This scale, although in so far artificial, is yet closely suggestive of its origin in nature, and this system of tuning, although not mathematically true, yet satisfies the ear, while it has the convenience that the same twelve fixed tones answer for every key or scale, C♯ becoming identical with D♭, and so on
The adjustment of the intervals of the scale in keyboard instruments so as to adapt them to the purposes of practical harmony: consisting in slight variations of the pitch of the notes from true or "just" intonation in order to make them available in different keys
A system of compromises in the tuning of organs, pianofortes, and the like, whereby the tones generated with the vibrations of a ground tone are mutually modified and in part canceled, until their number reduced to the actual practicable scale of twelve tones to the octave
A means of slightly detuning certain intervals in order to more evenly distribute the dissonant effects of commas around a scale, with the effect of increasing the number of acceptable keys for keyboard and fretted instruments Temperaments make use of irrational intervals
Temperament is the tendency to behave in an uncontrolled, bad-tempered, or unreasonable way. Some of the models were given to fits of temperament. the emotional part of someone's character, especially how likely they are to be happy, angry etc artistic/nervous/good etc temperament (temperamentum, from temperare; TEMPER). In the psychological study of personality, an individual's characteristic or habitual inclination or mode of emotional response. The notion of temperament in this sense originated with Galen, who developed it from an earlier theory regarding the four "humours": blood, phlegm, and black and yellow bile. The subject was taken up in the 20th century by Ernst Kretschmer and later theorists, including Margaret Mead. Today researchers emphasize physiological processes (including the endocrine and autonomic nervous systems) and culture and learning
person's characteristic disposition, or style of approaching and reacting to people and situations person's characteristic disposition, or style of approaching and reacting to people and situations
The act of tempering or modifying; adjustment, as of clashing rules, interests, passions, or the like; also, the means by which such adjustment is effected
a conceptual term that categorizes a functionally significant component of an individuals psychological structure It is not immutable, but it shows consistency over time and also a degree of cross-situational consistency
In music, the adjustment of one sound source, such as a voice or string, to produce a desired pitch in relation to a given pitch, and the modification of that tuning to lessen dissonance. Tuning assures a good sound for a given pair of tones; temperament compromises the tuning to assure a good sound for any and all pairs of tones. Two vibrating strings sound best together if the ratio between their lengths can be expressed by two small whole numbers. If two strings vibrate in a ratio of 2: 1, the vibrations will always coincide and so reinforce each other. But if they vibrate in a ratio of 197: 100 (very close to 2: 1), they will cancel each other out three times per second, creating audible "beats." These beats are what make something sound "out of tune." Since a tone produced by one ratio will not necessarily agree with the same tone created by repeatedly applying another ratio, either some intervals must be mistuned to allow for the perfect tuning of others or all intervals must be slightly mistuned. Before 1700, several systems were used based on the former compromise, including "just intonation"; since then, the compromise known as "equal temperament," in which the ratios represented by each pair of adjacent notes are identical, has prevailed