Notes 85-86-87-88

[Tim Keenan & Rebecca Counts]

Frank Weston wrote:
>
> I tune by ear, and recently with reference to a VTD.  My question:
>
> In the treble, length and size of string is roughly equivalent for most
> pianos.  Why do some sound right with lots of stretch in the high
> octave, and some need little at all.  For example:
>
> I have a very good tuning on a Steinway O with about 8 cents stretch at
> C8.  I also have a very good tuning on an A II with almost 35 cents at
> C8.  These are somewhat similar pianos, and to my ear, both of these
> pianos sound "right", yet they are both tuned quite differently.  Both
> of these tunings have been complimented by some pretty serious
> professional musicians (not patting myself on the back, just trying to
> make a point).  What gives?
>
> The idea that the ear likes sharper tones as pitch increases does not
> jibe with experience.  The piano seems to decide what the ear will
> like.  Why?
>
> Wondering - Frank Weston

The amount of stretch that your ear likes is due, I believe, to the
inharmonicity of the strings in the octave(s) below them:  you are tuning
the higher octave to the (sharp) partials of the lower octave.  The
amount that the harmonics of the lower octave are sharp with respect to
the fundamental of that octave, in combination with the relative loudness
of the various partials with respect to the fundamental, determine how
sharp the upper note has to be in order to sound "in tune" with what your
brain interprets as the "average" pitch of the lower octave.

JMHO, but it works for me.

Tim Keenan
Noteworthy Piano Service
Kitchener, ON