"pounding"

[Jim Coleman, Sr.]

Hi Susan:

Good sensible post!

I think it is the strong vibration from the hard blow which helps the string
to wiggle through the agraffe or V-bar and equalize the tension on the two
portions of string.

Jim Coleman, Sr.

On Sun, 31 Oct 1999, Susan Kline wrote:

> At 06:04 PM 10/31/1999 -0800, Jason wrote:
> 
> >One direct, sharp blow is sufficient. While gently manipulating the tuning
> >pin, you are pulling the short distance between pressure bar and tuning pin
> >into much higher tension than the tension on the speaking distance of the
> >string. The purpose of the hard blow is to equalize these two tensions. If
> >they are not equalized at the time of tuning, they will equalize more slowly
> >(and the piano will go out of tune rapidly).
> 
> Theoretically, I don't see how this would work out. Maybe some wiser heads
> will inform me of what's really happening. Picture: the part of the string
> up near the tuning pin is too tight. So you give a good sharp blow to
> "equalize" it. The good sharp blow raises tension in the speaking length,
> and presumably pulls even harder at the length near the tuning pin.
> 
> Personally, I pull the hammer a little in either direction, listening for
> the changes in pitch, and I feel more secure when the final pitch seems to
> be exactly in the center of these changes. And while I use just a blow or
> two, and not killer blows, for a lot of private tunings, for the concert
> work I really lay into the thing, with multiple hard blows. It may be that
> some know how to use the hammer to do some of this, but I find that my
> results are a lot better if I "overdo" the test blows.
> 
> As far as ear damage is concerned, I don't feel that the middle section and
> bass, in a largish hall, are any particular problem. If my ears are freaking
> out in the high treble and I still need to use the hard blows, I'll put in
> my musician's plugs for the first pass, then take out the left one (the ear
> turned away from the piano) to evaluate what I got, using soft blows.
> 
> When people say that loud sounds "hurt", do they mean physical pain? I feel
> very uncomfortable around loud sounds, and I don't like the distortion and 
> buzz
> from them, but I've never felt physical pain from them. Does anyone feel 
> stabbing
> pains in the ears from loud sounds? When some of you say that after a day 
> of hard
> tuning your ears are "worn out", what form does this wearing out take? Is it
> specific to your hearing, or is it general fatigue and difficulty 
> concentrating?
> 
> Susan
>