In a message dated 10/31/99 7:54:16 AM Pacific Standard Time, jformsma@dixie-net.com (John M. Formsma) writes: << With all the talk recently about those who are using the metal forks, how does one do pitch raises aurally--i.e, how does one determine how flat a piano is and how sharp to tune it so that the pitch will fall, leaving the piano fairly close to pitch for fine tuning? With the Accu-fork, it is simple since it has a slider adjustment allowing one to easily determine the pitch of a piano before a pitch raise. How is it done with a metal fork? Just curious. John Formsma Blue Mountain, MS >> You do it essentially the same way. The rule of thumb is that you need to tune 1/3 sharper than your targeted pitch. If your starting pitch is 3 beats flat of your fork, for example, you tune your starting pitch one full beat sharp of the fork. Of course, if you have an electronic tuner, you can make a more precise calculation but that does not necessarily mean that your results will be that much "better". Not all pianos respond in exactly the same way. The offset you use with an ETD or the calculated sharpness you do aurally in a pitch raise tuning will always produce a rough tuning but hopefully one which will be close enough that you can follow it with a good, stable and fine tuning on the second pass. I almost never attempt to tune a piano in just one pass. Most of my concert/performance/recording tunings are "par 3", meaning that I expect to have to do 3 passes on a piano which they always say before I start "doesn't sound too bad, it'll probably just need a touch up". There have been some very good comments in this discussion. I completely agree that aural skills should be fully developed first. I tuned completely aurally for 22 years before I ever got the SAT, then it took at least 2 years before it was anything more than an encumbrance to what I was doing. I often felt that I could do the job "faster, better and cheaper" with my dandy little $3.00 tuning fork (which by the way, I never had to calibrate, it is always dead on at room temperature). I do agree with Ed, however. I only use the SAT in the program mode. I never use the FAC program because it does not suit my purposes in any way. For the PTG RPT Tuning Exam, they use the FAC program to just get started, then they create a really fine tuning. I create my own temperament and octaves and work the program until I am really satisfied with it, then I have something which is as good as gold and which no one else has. Although using the FAC program has its place, I view using it and the FAC Correction figures for tuning Historical Temperaments about the same as using any ETD to tune without having fully developed aural tuning skills first. You may be able to produce something which is satisfactory to someone who wants a particular temperament with which you are unfamiliar but then again, you may produce something which is quite flawed and erroneous without knowing why or how much. It can be very exciting and gratifying to experience the sounds that you create as you go: the differing resonances, the titillating and scintillating sounds that your upper octaves have as you make your own personal and reasoned decision about which partials will match or which compromise you make. After you have created a program, you can reproduce this special and custom arrangement very quickly and accurately time after time. I have never felt that my aural skills have suffered or diminished in any way by using the SAT for routine tunings. But I developed very thorough aural skills first. I can't really say how many years it should take. It may take many for some and only a few for others. If you are able to pass the PTG RPT Tuning Exam with very high scores completely aurally, I would say that you are ready. If you are close to passing or pass only barely, I would say that you need more time with aural only skills. Volunteering to be part of the Exam committee can be of great benefit to anyone desiring to increase knowledge and skill in tuning. So can the study and practice of alternative temperament and octave arrangements. Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin
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