> Why wouldn't harpsicords need some stretch tuning? Admittedly the > thinner strings have less resistance to bending, which is the source > of inharmonicity, but it shouldn't be zero, should it? > > -Bob Scott In my search of a perfect tuning for a harpsichord, I have made some partials measurements with my SAT in order to calculate a convenient stretch. I found no measurable stretch in the bass and in the tenor section. The partials figures are not always consistent though from one note to the other. You even get negative figures at some points. That made me wondering about the effectiveness of tuning strictly by ear but, this is another story. To make the first story short, my first stretched note is B4 by 0.2 cents. E6, which the last note of the harpsichord I take care of, is tuned with a 1.3 cents stretch on the 8 foot register, and 2.2 on the 4 foot register (which is actually an E7). The harpsichord (made by the canadian maker Yves Beaupré) sounds remarquably beautiful that way. Michel Lachance, RPT Bishop's University, Lennoxville Sherbrooke University, Canada
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