Maths vs. Music - Tuning and harmony

[bennyboy]

To me the second one does indeed sound like it is played on a detuned bar piano. There appear to be some seriously flat notes in those 7,9 chords.

Yep. My opinion is that just tuning is great for the main triads, and crap for anything else. Hence my project idea-- specify exactly what note and system EACH note derives from, to guarantee a properly-tuned dynamic listening experience!

so let's say I'm in the key of C, playing a V-flat9 chord. Where are the notes, G-B-D-F-Aflat coming from?

I'd guess you'd want GBD built off the G for the purest major sonority, and the F and a-flat from the minor iv, f, for the best resolution in/to C. OR would you treat the extended chord as part of B-flat7, and use the A-flat which is subdominant to that? That might work if you wanted to modulate to c-.

It seems to me the best way to achieve this would be to record the song in equal tempering, and then go through the painstaking process, starting with the tonic, of saying where EVERY SINGLE note is derived. In fact, I'd even say there's another level of artistry there, since you and I might not choose the same tuning arrangement for this or that chord or section.