a thought on temperament.

[Clyde Hollinger]

Brian,

I am relatively uneducated when it comes to "alternate" tunings, but my hunch is
that probably you were not getting good tunings.

(Brian, do not take the following personally.  They are just general
observations.)

It fascinates me how people will call me for a price quote, because they are
making their decision solely on that.  They assume all tunings are equal, and
they certainly are not.  I remember the time I was called to tune after a
relative beginner had been there to tune the piano some months earlier.  His
charge was very low, about two thirds of what might normally be charged, but
they were unhappy with the result.  The piano had been tuned aurally, which can
give very bad results  in the hands of those who don't know how to set a decent
temperament, or are inexperienced or careless.    I found some notes up to 13
cents sharper or flatter than their next-door neighbors, and that difference
could not be attributed to humidity changes or structural deficiencies.  Was
that tuning a good buy because it was cheaper?  Certainly not.  I retained that
account until they moved out of the area.

Occasionally when I answer the phone, the person on the line blurts out, "How
much do you charge for a tuning?"  If I am feeling tired or grumpy, I just
answer the question, and they hang up.  As you know, I am not looking for more
work right now.  But I really think these people ask this question because they
have no idea what else to ask.  I think it is best when I (we) take the time to
give them a little more advice on how to find a technician whose work they will
be happy with.  They might still go with the cheapest tech, but at least they
have an idea why that might not be a good idea.

Regards,
Clyde

Brian Trudgeon wrote:

> My piano sounds nicer than it ever
> did after any tuning it had before. I can't make up my mind if it was badly
> tuned previously or if possibly it was tuned to Reverse Well (as per Bill
> Bremmer's explanation of how this happens)? . At least I have learnt that
> all is not "equal" as one browses through the list of piano tuners  in the
> yellow pages. From here on out I will only call one technician.