In a message dated 7/5/98 7:46:46 AM Central Daylight Time, jhunt@geocities.com writes: << I'm almost done with my first restringing and would appreciate some input on how to do the initial pitch raise. The method described in Reblitz' book to properly load the soundboard calls for using an ETD (or some type of chromatic tuner), which I don't have. So I'm looking for an aural tuning shceme. Thanks in advance. >> There are two ways I might suggest. If you have all of your notes marked, simply start with your A4, pull it up to pitch and perhaps a little beyond (8 bps), pull up all the other A's, then move to the next note of your usual temperament pattern or move in the cycle of 5ths and pull up all the notes across the piano each time. This will load the board very evenly. Another way is to use a common pitch pipe. Whether you tune the whole unison at once or just one string then pull up the unisons really won't matter much. Loading the board evenly sounds like a prudent idea but it is really not necessary. You do need to have a good musical ear if using a pitch pipe. I don't have any problem with it at all but others I have tried to train sometimes just can't get it. You blow the note, retain the pitch in your mind, pull the strings up to the pitch you remember or perhaps just a bit sharp of it, particularly in the treble and high treble. Don't worry about precision in chip tuning. This operation is solely for applying the first rough tension on the strings. No matter what you do, the piano will be *violently* out of tune when you get the action ready for the first real tuning. New wire is very unstable and you will not have the benefit of the action for settling the strings and creating a real tuning. Your first rough tunings can also be quite sharp. 25¢ is common practice. This will mean that you can tune your A4 a good 8 beats above pitch the first couple of times. The pitch will naturally fall quite quickly afterwards. Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC