violin thread

[Horace Greeley]

Jim, Bob, et al.

I think Jim has this well thought out.

One story which speaks to this concept of "rolling" unisons follows:

Years ago, I was tuning for Ashkenazy.  Timing was, as often happens in
large, busy venues, was appallingly tight.  One group ran over on its
rehearsal, and I was not able to start tuning for a matinee until they were
actively leaving the stage.  Ashkenazy was early, of course.   As I banged
madly away, he paced up and down.   Finishing up, I apologized for the
"loose" unisons.  His answer was telling:  "Oh, that's quite alright, I
need all the help I can get for the Bartok".

Another client, who plays nothing much past Schubert, insists on having
unisons so tight, that I suggested that he trade his D in on a Bechstein or
a Bluthner.  Go figure.

Ah, yes, perception...

Best to all.

Horace



>Bob;
>In a message dated 5/14/97 4:16:55 PM, you ask:
> "Do slight irregularities in an aural tuning equal 'warmth' or
>'inaccuracy'?"
>
>  In my opinion the answer is yes!  However to get to that point one must
>first truly tune the instrument and not just get it close enough.  A very
>slight, almost undetectable, rolling of unison adds body, substance,
>fullness, depth, warmth, to a unison, which if truly tuned in unison would
>sound nice, clear, ringing and without as much body. (much as the tone
>generated, without vibrato, by an electronic instrument sounds)
>  If we tuned our unison to provide this slight "rolling" we would be
>introducing "inaccuracy" to the tuning as far as mathmatics goes but if we
>did it "accurately" and intentionally, is it really inaccurate ?  I get
>confused just about this point when discussing these things.  :-)  The
>sustain time on a unision is slightly longer on a note with a slight roll,
>but I will leave it to the theoreticians out there to tell us why.
>  Again, the answer to your question is yes.........but (here it comes
>Horace) it is all in your perception of the process and results.
>Jim Bryant (FL)




Horace Greeley			hgreeley@leland.stanford.edu

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