[CAUT] pitch rise

[Susan Kline]

At 09:44 AM 3/9/2006 -0600, Richard wrote:
>I'm having to be more aggressive
>with my tuning technique, i.e., in order to settle the pitch I have to
>first pull the string higher than I like in order to move the tight pin
>and then allow the stretchy string to settle back to the pitch I want.
>As I move up the piano, the pitch  behind me tends to creep higher,
>sometimes to the point I have to retune the note below.  I'm not a
>pounder, so I don't think that I'm beating the piano too hard.  I'm not
>trying to pitch raise/lower the piano, just give it a good solid tuning.
>
>What can I do to prevent this "phenomenon?"  Does anyone else experience
>this?  What is the cause?

I'm not at all sure just what is going on, but now and then a note acts
like you describe after a very heavy pounding and a lot of manipulation
of the pin.

Thinking about it, consider that the killer blow(s) will pull wire across
the v-bar and that lowers the pitch of the speaking length. So
when you set the pitch high and then bang it down, you are allowing
the front segments to have higher tension than the speaking length.
Perhaps on this piano, the rendering is easy enough that this tension
gradually creeps back into the speaking length, which then goes
higher.

As to what to do -- I tend to play a note with a firm but not
killer blow after I've slugged it repeatedly (which I usually do
only to offenders.) Effectiveness unknown, but I think it helps.
I've imagined (hopefully) that sometimes when a player
whams away at something, throwing it out, then plays more moderately,
that sometimes one gets a "self-healing tuning" effect. Well,
maybe wishful thinking, but if the string is really equalized
well, and the note is perched on that narrow place where, if
one nudges it, sharpness and flatness can be achieved with
absolutely equal nudges, and if the piano is healthy and
well-settled to begin with (not new or old wire, etc.) I think
that some self-healing sometimes occurs.

Procedure? a second (firm, not pounded) pass, then one _really_
firm but not brutal blow to each note, then playing
chromatically slowly and softly to catch strays might be
how I'd go, after part of a tuning drifted sharp like that.

Another thing to try, given the tight pins and newish wire,
would be to give a tiny nudge downward to the tuning pin after
your slugfest has given you the right pitch. A slight urge in
the flatward direction, but not enough to change pitch -- just
enough to ease the tension in the front segment a little. Then,
if the rendering is easy, like S&S sometimes has, where you can
hear any little pin-bend, you could try the little wobble with
the tuning hammer, to see if the pitch goes up and down equally
easily. If you have uneven tension, the string will jump sharp
or flat once the friction is overcome.

Good luck.

Brand of piano?

Susan