detuning

[David Nadworny]

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Chris:

I never had a customer like this, but it happened to a colleague of mine =
during his apprenticeship years ago in Northern Ireland.  The client =
hadn't had a tuning in many years, and the day after his tuning, his =
company received a complaint.  Seems the piano (Steinway grand)  had =
lost its "voice."  His mentor accompanied him back to the client, =
listened to her complaint, and asked for 15 minutes to correct the =
problem, which he did by knocking 2 strings of every unison out of tune =
with his tuning hammer (the original tuning, by the way, was perfect).  =
The client, of course, loved the result.

In your case, you might think about pressuring 2 out of 3 strings of =
each unison with a mute, just enough to put them slightly out of phase.  =
Removing the action will make this easier in your case.  If this is not =
sufficient, use the tuning hammer.  In my opinion, a client's =
satisfaction overrides any consideration we as technicians may have =
about what constitutes a "proper" tuning.  We get to do our work and =
leave, while they must live with and play what we've left behind.  If =
this client likes your response to her requirements, you'll know what to =
do next time (and have a great story to share at conventions) !

David Nadworny, RPT
Medford, MA
nadlane@earthlink.com
=20


Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1999 03:01:48 EDT
From: ChrisRis@AOL.COM
Subject: Piano 'detuning'
You wrote:

Greetings,

I have a dingbat of a customer with a Steinway upright from the teens =
who=20
claims to be a 'wizard of interpretation' and to play the 'tone' of the=20
piano, 'unlike most professionals'.  She hasn't tuned her piano in 12 =
years=20
and the action was so frozen and out of regulation that it was =
impossible. =20
Did the usual, file the hammers, adjust let off and blow, protek the =
action,=20
teflon the butt leathers, voila, plays great.  Unfortuneatley, it's no =
longer=20
the piano she loved.  It seems it has lost it's unique voice that she=20
preferred over any other piano she has heard, the best included.

She mentioned today that Liszt 'preferred' his pianos out of tune - =
found=20
them more inspiring - and it brought to mind a story I heard 30 years =
ago=20
about an itinerant 'toner' that followed along behind the itinerant =
tuner. =20
She - that's how the story goes - would slightly detune 1 string of a =
unison,=20
restoring the charm and strength of voice of the instrument that somehow =
was=20
lost in the tuning!

Has anyone EVER heard of this???  I'm actually thinking of trying it on =
her;=20
she's crazy enough to love it!!!

Christopher Ris

PS  About 6 months ago I heard a snippet of a piano piece that was =
prepared=20
like this, but out of tune enough the have that 'honky tonk' sound.









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