Tuning Frequency

[ATodd@UH.EDU]

Bill,
   Before I moved to Houston, I tuned for a relatively small university in
San Angelo, TX. They had all (25) pianos done twice a year, with the recital
hall and sometimes the piano teachers' studio being done as needed.
   The problem I had in that situation (tuning at the beginning of the Fall
and Spring semesters) was that in a month or so the humidity started changing
drastically. They had that "chilled air" type system like most large
institutions do now, so I had highs of 75 to over 80% during the air-
conditioning season and lows down into the 30's or less during the winter.
   Another problem was that the entire system was shut off over the weekend
and holidays unless there was a concert, etc. in the building. Almost
invariably, the pitch was far enough over or below to warrant a pitch change
type tuning, which of course, I couldn't charge for.
   About the only thing that was tuned in the summer was the recital hall
piano, if needed (their decision, not mine). All in all, not a very good way
to have most of the pianos in tune for any length of time at all.
   Hope this helps.

Avery Todd, RPT
University of Houston
atodd@uh.edu

P.S. We have the same type air-conditioning system here, but at least it is
     never turned off, except for service problems. Which, of course, always
     seem to happen at the worst possible time.