Howard Goodall on BBC Two

[MrGongGong]

I thought he had a good stab at how equal Temperament works
but sadly did repeat the myth of Bach's 48 preludes and fugues being an example

[mercia]

he played a bit of Fats Waller in various keys, then said the posh word for that was modulation

I would have thought the word was transposition

??

[Bryn]

I thought he had a good stab at how equal Temperament works
but sadly did repeat the myth of Bach's 48 preludes and fugues being an example

Well I am sure he knows much better than to make such an assertion, but I think you will find that he craftily limited himself to implying that the 48 were written for an equal temperament instrument. I do wonder whether this might just have been the case when it came to Book 2. It is only Book 1, after all, which carries the squiggles which have been putatively interpreted as a key to a particular well-temperament tuning scheme, is it not? The road to equal-temperament had been further traversed between the periods of composition of the two books, after all. Is anyone here clued up on the most recent considerations of this question?

[Hornspieler]

he played a bit of Fats Waller in various keys, then said the posh word for that was modulation

I would have thought the word was transposition

??

... at one point HG referred to contrapuntal authenticity. But had he told his novitiate audience what counterpoint was? I don't think so. It is all too easy when teaching to assume knowledge and understanding in one's pupils (or audience)

A common mistake, but for me the overall programme was, I felt helpful and informative. I was not conscious that this programme was of an hour's duration - which is a good sign of its value.

HS

[Barbirollians]

It is much the most intelligent programme to have been on BBC2 for some considerable time - we should be thankful it is not out on BBC 4 .

Saturday night is an odd choice though - Sunday would have been better.

[MrGongGong]

It is much the most intelligent programme to have been on BBC2 for some considerable time - we should be thankful it is not out on BBC 4 .

What difference would that make ?

[Sir Velo]

What difference would that make ?

BBC4 it's for intie-lleck-chewals innit?

[Stephen Whitaker]

BBC 2 programmes get wider audiences and more prominent coverage in press listings and reviews.
There is a perceived difference in the audience and style of BBC 4 presentation which might restrict the Goodall programmes' impact if shown there.

[MrGongGong]

BBC 2 programmes get wider audiences and more prominent coverage in press listings and reviews.
There is a perceived difference in the audience and style of BBC 4 presentation which might restrict the Goodall programmes' impact if shown there.

interesting as these days more or less all tv channels (with maybe the exception of Quest and Food Network etc) seem to be just like another button , the days when one might think that what was on BBC2 would have a significantly different style would appear to have gone.

[french frank]

What difference would that make ?

It would be the equivalent of putting "Breakfast" on Radio 3 ...

[Sir Velo]

interesting as these days more or less all tv channels (with maybe the exception of Quest and Food Network etc) seem to be just like another button , the days when one might think that what was on BBC2 would have a significantly different style would appear to have gone.

I watch practically no TV but when I do, it's the BBC4 listings I scan (after BBC HD or Sky Arts2). Can't remember the last time I looked on BBC2. Any decent programme is a repeat of what's been on 4 anyway, innit?

[teamsaint]

Here is the "Big Bangs" programme on Equal Temperament

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY5uopQ1GO0

[MrGongGong]

It would be the equivalent of putting "Breakfast" on Radio 3 ...

I'm not sure of that
maybe we could ask folk to tweet their opinions ?

[french frank]

interesting as these days more or less all tv channels (with maybe the exception of Quest and Food Network etc) seem to be just like another button , the days when one might think that what was on BBC2 would have a significantly different style would appear to have gone.

BBCs One, Two, Three and Four cost descending amounts of money, from BBC One at £1.3 bn total to BBC Four at £69m, coinciding with the size of their audiences (CBBC and CBeebies together get about £150m). Similarly with the network radio stations where R4 cost £120m and R3 costs £50m (its content costs less than R1's). The money goes into the popular services to stop people switching to the commercials. So the mere content of Goodall's programmes is a plus for BBC Two, the presentation is two pluses.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

It would be the equivalent of putting "Breakfast" on Radio 3 ...

on the numb bum test the hour flew by and ended before it began ....

HG alluded to the society and other knowledge developing alongside music and hinted at their interaction

interestingly he claims that it is his view of the history of music, not classical music .... in which case i find it deficient [ did you catch the repeat of Ravi Shankar biographical programme on BBC 4? ... ]