Notes 85-86-87-88

[Jim]

Hi again Frank:

I too pluck strings on occasions, but I think it is good to point out for
the sake of the younger tuners that plucking the strings does not settle
them as well as playing them does.  It much easier to hear the pitch of a
plucked string than a played string, so this sometimes helps isolate
problems.  For the beginner sometimes if one string gets tuned so far out
that a beat can not be heard, one might think that the unison is good
whereas, by plucking the individual strings it can quickly be determined
that the offending string is like way out, man.

Jim Cooleman, Sr.

On Sat, 12 Apr 1997, Frank Weston wrote:

> Robert Scott wrote:
> >
> >  In the TuneLab I
> > compute a Fast Fourier Transform about 5 times per second.  Each
> > time the frequency spectrum is computed, I display a graph of the signal
> > amplitude as a function of frequency.  This graph is in addition to the normal
> > phase display.  There is a zoomed-in mode where the frequency specturm
> > display can be made to display only the region within +/- 200 cents around
> > the desired pitch.  When the graph is in this mode, the tuning error is
> > observed as a peak in the graph which is not centered on the red line which
> > denotes the desired pitch.  Instead of stopping a moving display, you just
> > tune in order to push the peak of the graph over towards the red line.  I have
> > found that using this display in octave 7 is easier than trying to read a
> > phase display and I believe in practice it is just as accurate.  In fact, if
> > there
> > are serious false beats, the frequency spectrum display actually shows
> > several distinct peaks.  You can tune to the highest peak or you can center
> > the several peaks around the red line.  In any case, it is easier that trying
> > to read a phase display which is based on the assumption that the note
> > you are listening to is pure.
>
> I have been giving TuneLab97 lots of use, and I have found that the
> frequency
> spectrum display is a really valuable tool for tuning the top octave.  I
> don't
> even bother to mute the strings.  Each string can be individually
> observed on
> the display, and I move them one at a time to center.  I have never used
> any
> other VTD, so I can't compare and say this is the ultimate.  What I can
> say, is
> that it is a lot better than working by ear and using mutes.  Especially
> in
> some uprights where muting the top few octaves is a big pain.
>
> Once again I must state that I have no affiliation with Bob Scott.  I'm
> just
> looking for better and quicker ways to tune a piano.
>
> Frank Weston
>
> P.S  Plucking the individual strings also works very well with the
> frequency
> spectrum display.
>