Cents in pitch raises AND Beyond

[Farrell]

I think it is more complex than just how flat is it? I have tuned numerous pianos that are right at pitch, make your small corrections while tuning, and they stay there. I tune others that are right at pitch, you start hitting keys, especially in the upper treble, and you will get pitch drops of ten or twenty cents (I have seen even more). You need to work these pianos just like you would when pitch raising. I suspect these pianos will tend to be a bit unstable, just as a pitch-raised piano will be. I suspect these are pianos that have not been tuned in more than a year, and are not played aggressively (and perhaps the last tuner had a light touch!).

So, I think for the question below, it depends on the piano and its tuning history. I suspect most pianos that are tuned every two weeks (or more often) and have the keys worked (firm blows to settle strings), a four cent pitch raise would be nothing - very stable. A piano that had not been tuned for more than a year, perhaps quite unstable with a four cent raise - but then I suspect it would be unstable even if you didn't raise the pitch.

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Moody" <remoody@midstatesd.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2002 1:53 AM
Subject: Cents in pitch raises


> 
> My questions:
>  1.) Is four cents flat too much to get a stable concert
> tuning?
> 
> William R. Monroe
> PTG Associate
> Salt Lake City, UT
> 
SNIP