Instrument condition

[Bbarasa@aol.com]

In a message dated 96-02-13 17:13:41 EST, Allen wrote:

>Do you follow Avery's procedure & do the high end before the base?  I
>been starting with F3 and working down to A0 and then from F#3 up.
>Maybe that is my problem.  I think the base strings put more tension
>on the piano; maybe I should do them last??
>
>

Since I tune without a machine, I "set" the temperament first.  This is VERY
rough, of course.  The whole PR takes less than half an hour.  Then I tune up
to the top and then down to the bottom.  I tune the middle string of the
trichords first and one string of the bichords plus the single bass strings.
 Then I go back from the very bottom and tune the other bichords, then the
left string of the trichords all the way up, then the right strings.

But I don't know if it really makes any difference.  It seems to me if a
string is brittle enough to break, it will break no matter what order it is
tuned in.  I was taught to do it this way and I THINK the theory was that it
would keep the tension on the plate and soundboard relatively even.

Barb Barasa
Sycamore IL