Journal Article, Accu-Tuners

[Ron Torrella]

On Mon, 5 Sep 1994 k.swafford@genie.geis.com wrote:

[Preamble deleted...]

>       "The world is changing and piano tuning is no exception.  When I
>  originally learned piano tuning, I learned how to do it with just a
>  tuning fork and my ears.  But times change and in order to keep up to
>  date, I have had to learn how to use this computerized tuning device.
>  By using this device in addition to the skills that I still have 'in
>  my ears,' I will be able to come up with an almost perfect tuning for
>  THIS piano.  Believe it or not, every piano must be tuned slightly
>  differently from every other one, and the tuning I come up with today
>  for your piano will be saved in the memory of this device, and
>  backed-up on my personal computer when I get home.  The next time I am
>  here, I'll just call up the custom tuning for this piano from the
>  memory and I'll be ready to tune your piano again."
>
>                                              Kent Swafford


A few questions:

1.  When you're addressing the customer's apparent concern in the above
example, are you in fact tuning the instrument using the SA-T or are you
first tuning the instrument, then recording the resultant tuning?

2.  Does your SA-T take atmospheric conditions into account?  (Seasonal
changes and what-not.) What if the piano were to be moved into a
different room between the time you tune/record the first time and then
return?  Would you have to start from scratch?

3.  If your customer calls you the next day and expresses disapproval
with the tuning, would you hesitate to return, _sans_ SA-T, to give a
completely aural tuning?  Would you consider this "backing down" or
merely satisfying the customer?  What about subsequent tunings?  Would
they be SA-T-assisted tunings in this customer's case?  What if the word
spread from that customer that, when push came to shove, you caved
thereby giving some validation to the customer's contention that aural is
better than assisted?

4. Does using the SA-T *really* cut your tuning time down?  Does it
*really* "free up your mind" when tuning?  (What would it be free to do?
Run through the grocery list?  No, not sarcasm, just wondering what else
one would want to think of while attending to this piano.  Personally, I
might find the SA-T to be more of a distraction so I don't understand how
it can be such a mental strain to tune without an SA-T.  It would seem to
me that one would be better able to consider voicing and other action noise/
regulation problems to not have to be concerned with fiddling with that
device.)

5.  When I was very young, my piano was tuned by an old man (no
electronic gadgets).  When he retired, my parents called on several
technicians from the PTG.  One gentleman showed up and tuned the piano
with an A-T (not sure what brand it was but it had a circle of red lights
like the SA-T).  I thought it was pretty neat, myself.  But when he left
and I began practicing, I noticed a distinctly different sound--sterile,
cold, lifeless.  My folks called him back and he demonstrated that the
piano was perfectly in tune.  No amount of convincing worked for me.  It
just didn't sound right.  Note that I had no prejudices against his
use of the tuning device and as my long-time technician had retired many
years before, I was not accustomed to a particular tuning or tuner.  I'm
sure that this phenomenon can be explained away, but isn't it possible
that some pianists actually prefer *not* to hear equal temperament and
dead-perfect unisons?  I suspect that this is the root cause of most
pianists' dislike of electronically-assisted tunings.

Caveat: I think there are good uses for the SA-T.  I don't dispute
that, in some cases, they may provide a better tuning than could
otherwise be provided--in cases like colds, ear infections, medications
that dull the auditory nerves, etc.  My questions aren't aimed at
starting a flame war.  These are questions/comments I've heard among my
customers, some of whom have called for my services specifically because
they didn't like their pianos tuned electronically.


Ron Torrella, Head Piano Technician
School of Music
University of Illinois