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jacob collier tunes the piano

George Collier2 HN recommenders · 2021–2026
3.3M views · demo · evergreen · Uploaded 2021-07-15

A one-minute clip of Jacob Collier tuning a piano, remarking that it is not in tune at all. It touches on his views on equal temperament and tuning.

Used as an example in music theory and tuning discussions of continuous-pitch thinking beyond equal temperament.

Music theory, synthesis & productionMusic performance & songs

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3 comments from Hacker News

@srcreigh2021 · in “Apple acquires classical music streaming service Primephonic”

Ever really loved a classical piano song? No? Maybe you just don't like the controversial new way we've been tuning pianos for the last ~200 years. Check out the 1/4 comma meantone version of Mozart Fantasie KV397 [1] which you can compare to equal temperament. (Please note this piece was unfinished, and the final section is believed to have been written by someone else.) My secret love is Chopin Ballade No. 4 Op. 52 in unequal temperament [2]. Last year this video had ~4k views. I may be responsible for 1k and it's now ~8k views. You can compare a good ET version Krystian Zimmerman [3]. Jacob Collier has referred to Equal Temperament as a "hoax" [4] [1]: [LINK] [2]: [LINK] [3]: [LINK] [4]: [VIDEO]

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@kwakja2022 · in “Music theory for nerds (2016)”

> On continuous pitch instruments (e.g. violin, voice), this is entirely possible to do Jacob Collier has a good example of this[1] (I'm a huge fan). Separately, I've previously heard this referred to as "equal temperament" tuning which makes me wonder what led to this difference in wording. [1]: [VIDEO]

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@williamdclt2026 · in “Show HN: Teach your kids absolute (perfect) pitch”

> adjust between A440 and A400 Someone shared this recently: [VIDEO] I struggle to conceive being able to hear the difference, but _singing_ it entirely blows my mind

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