too much "pounding!"

[Marcel Carey]

Two things that came through my mind as I was tuning this afternoon:

-    I did notice that it was possible to "over pound". Then I could notice on
some pianos that when touching up unisons after tuning, most of touching up
occurs bringing pitch down. The best way I have found to really test my tuning
was with playing with the dampers up. I suggest that good sounboard movement
can stabilize the tension between segments better than pounding endlessly on
individual notes. What do you think. After hard loud playing, I then go over
unisons softly. If any of them have moved, I just repeat the above procedure
until all is stable.

-    The hardest part of tuning I find is the guessing concerning the twisting
of the tuning pins. I find that Asian pianos in general have smaller tuning
pins than american made pianos. I also wonder if the steel used for pins might
be a little softer. On some instruments, I have a hard time turning the pins.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm strong enough to turn them, but the pitch will move
" A LOT" before the pin actually turns in the block. For me this is the hardest
thing to try to control. I wonder if there is a relationship between pin size
+metal hardness and torque in the block. To me, softer or smaller pins would
benefit less torque.

Do any of you agree?

Thanks,

Marcel Carey, RPT
Sherbrooke, QC

DBee840388@AOL.COM wrote:

> Ed Foote has a banger that he carved out of balsa wood that really saves the
> fingers.  Maybe he'll make you one for the right price?
>
> Don Bee, RPT
> Chicago Chapter