Observations on Tuning

[John M. Formsma]

Kris,

Thanks for the thoughts.

I had written:

>5)  To ensure stable unisons, I have recently employed something
>mentioned at the KC Convention by the Steinway concert technician.  After
you have
> tuned two strings of the unison, apply a little sideward pressure to the
>string using a hammer shank.  Then play the unison again, and if it has
remained stable, it >will be stable.  Then do the same thing with the third
string of the unison.  You can hold >the hammer shank in the same hand as
your tuning lever.

To which you replied:

<<<<	Huh ?  ?  I haven't heard of this before.  How much is "a little"
sideward pressure?  does direction matter? (in what relation to the
bridgepin?)  Do you press as much as the diameter of the string in
whatever direction it is?  How do you prevent causing false beasts? Is
this intended to be a subsitute for the "test blow"?  Is it effective in
bringing all the portions of the string (non-speaking ones too) into
balance? If so, how can you tell?  >>>>

What we were told is that you apply enough pressure to make the string get
closer to its neighbor.  It is not a jab that could kink the string, but
just a little pressure.  I doubt if direction matters a great deal, but I
move it toward the center string.  A little more than the diameter of the
string.  It is not a substitute for a test blow--it only reveals if your
unison will hold on a hard blow from the pianist.  If, after applying
pressure, the unison is still good, then it ain't goin' nowhere.  I would
guess that rather than bringing any portions of the string into balance, it
ensures that all of them are in balance and completely stable.

This is probably helpful only in situations where stability is critical.

Rather than using a hammer shank, I use a dowel slightly larger than a
hammer shank.  This dowel has half of a medium thick guitar pick glued into
a slot on one end of the dowel.  This is to pluck a single string of a
unison, particularly in the treble of a piano that has lots of falsies.  On
some pianos, I also use my fingernail, but using the pick is easier on, say,
a Baldwin Acrosonic.  Anyway, this tool has two functions--one on each end.

Hope this helps.

John Formsma
Blue Mountain, MS