Piano Tuning and Aviaiton -Reply

[Steve Pearson]

With all the banter comparing  aural tuning to the visual tuning devices,  I
think it is wise to keep things in perspective.  In the hands of a
conscienteous skilled tech, a SAT, Yamaha PT100, cyber-tuner or other
visual tuning aid,  is a valuable tool.  In the hands of a nose-picker, it is a
dangerous weapon.  Having been a strictly aural tuner for more than 22
years, I always resisted these "new fangled" tools as good for, well,
somebody else.  We of the aural set, sort of resided in a class by
ourselves, in, but not of the world of electronic tuners.  At the same
time, I was aware that some of the best techs I knew used these tools
regularly.
 Recently, I had an opportunity to spend a few months with a PT100 and
a Cyber-tuner, and I can say that there were many times when I
preferred the visual over the aural in some problem areas.   The
destination is what matters, not which path we took to get there.
If it takes you three hours to tune a piano, you're doing something
wrong. Not many people can keep up the concentration-not to mention
the aural punishment-for that length of time.  The art of tuning is in the
result, and nothing else really matters.  If you can produce a fine tuning
in less time using a visual tuning aid, why on earth would you want to
stick by the strictly aural method?  Hint: pride isn't a good answer.  I still
prefer to tune "by ear", but I love to have a visual backup to confirm and
improve those problem notes.
Try to imagine how many pianos would never get serviced if only aural
tuners tuned pianos, or what many of  them would sound like... or how
many fine techs would now be flipping burgers.
I do think we get frequently caught in the minutiae of coincident partials,
and a lot of esoterica, often at the peril of sense.  There is an upward
limit beyond which we are only engaging in detail for the sake of detail.
It was Duke Ellington (I think) who said, "If it sounds good, it is good."
By extension, if it doesn't sound good, perhaps it isn't good.  As long as
we can distinguish between tools and crutches, we will come out OK.
Steve Pearson