humidity question (may be stupid but I'm curious...)

[Tvak@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 10/22/01 12:39:14 AM, stephen_airy@yahoo.com writes:

<< Two extremes here.

One, you keep an average to good (maybe Steinway, but
basically any piano rated 5 or higher on page 131 of
the Piano Book 3rd edition(Larry Fine)) well-built
full-size (52 to 60 inch) upright or medium size (6 to
7 foot) grand in a very controlled room, with
humidity, temperature, etc. control.  How fast/slow do
you think the piano would go out of tune varying
degrees if it's not played much (i.e. less than 4
hours a week)?  like 10 cents / 20 cents / 50 cents /
100 cents?

Two.  Keep the same piano (although probably the
upright for space reasons) in the bathroom next to the
shower.  (provided the piano could even SURVIVE such
awful treatment).  Would it be reasonable to say that,
if someone takes a 15-minute (or long enough to
totally fog up the mirrors) shower every day and runs
heat lamps for a while (long enough to dry everything
out) after the shower, once every day, do you think
said piano in that room could go a half-step flat or a
full step flat in the course of a few days? or how
fast do you think it would go out? (I do know that no
piano I know of would survive such treatment, but if
one would without totally disintegrating, what do you
think would happen?  (allow for cracking soundboard,
maybe cracking pinblock, splitting bridges, but try in
your mind to keep the action and plate in good
condition and not get the strings too rusty, although
in reality it would be bad for the piano.) >>

OK, I have a question, too.  It may also be stupid, but what the hey, if 
we're gonna talk about extremes, let's talk about extremes!

If you had three pianos, one was on the darkside of the moon, one was on the 
lightside of the moon, and the third one was in my living room, which one 
would go out of tune faster?  The pianos on the moon should be Young Changs, 
but not the one in my living room!  (Never!)  The temperature on the darkside 
of the moon is absolute zero, but is constant, as is the humidity (zero).  
The temperature on the lightside of the moon is over 200 degrees Fahrenheit, 
but is also constant, as is the humidity (zero).  The temperature in my 
living varies from 65 degrees Fahrenheit to 72 degrees Fahrenheit, and I 
don't monitor the humidity but it is not as constant as the moon's. 

My question is: which piano goes out of tune the quickest?

My theory is that the piano in my living room will go out of tune faster than 
either piano on the moon.  (Allow for the fact that there is no air on the 
moon, therefore no sound, so they must be tuned prior to being left on the 
moon. And as far as measuring how out of tune they go once they are there, 
hey, who can tell---THERE'S NO AIR!  Therefore the living room piano, being 
the only one capable of making sound, goes out of tune first!) 

Sorry, Stephen, sometimes the devil makes me go there.  Frankly, I do enjoy 
your questions.  I read all your posts.  You're always thinking and I enjoy 
that.  (Hope you didn't take offense.)

Tom Sivak