What is Meantone Temperament?

Meantone temperament is a historical tuning system designed to produce pure-sounding major thirds by slightly adjusting the tuning of perfect fifths. The system modifies the natural tuning of intervals so that certain harmonies sound smoother and more consonant than they would in other temperaments.

In meantone temperament, the perfect fifths are tuned slightly narrower than their natural ratio, which helps create very accurate major thirds. This approach improves the sound of common chords used in Renaissance and early Baroque music, making them more harmonically stable and pleasant.

However, meantone temperament works best in a limited number of keys, and some distant keys can produce very dissonant intervals known as “wolf intervals.” Because of these limitations, meantone temperament was gradually replaced by more flexible tuning systems such as equal temperament, though it remains important in the study of historical performance practice.