"Old School Teachings"

[Farrell]

Hello Tommy. I want to take you to task on your pitch raise (in a constructive manner!). Please know, I just want to learn what folks are doing. I'm not trying to better someone. It usually takes me about 35 minutes for the average one-pass pitch raise. I did one today of 40 cents and it took me the 35 minutes. It came out with 90% of the notes within two cents. I spend a bit of time making sure the pitch-raised-string is well settled and stable at that pitch. My second pass gave the piano a good tuning.

Do you (or anyone else) get the piano pretty much within two cents of target pitch on a 10 or 12 minute pitch raise of 40 cents? Do you have the strings pretty much settled so that when you do your tuning pass, you just tweak the pin to get the pitch where you want it? It may just be my technique, but I really have a hard time imagining it.

I think when I go to the Chicago convention this summer, I will have to see if there is a speed pitch raising class.

Thanks for any insight you can provide.

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Bigeartb@AOL.COM>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2002 6:05 PM
Subject: Re: "Old School Teachings"


> Hazen:
>      Good for you. I too raise the pitch on a great number of piano I tune 
> for the first time. In fact, today I raised the pitch on a Kimball 4' 
> something" baby grand in 12 minutes. I guess I lied the other day when I 
> stated I could raise the pitch in 10 minutes but I did stop and chat for a 
> minute or two with the customer in the middle of the pitch raise.  In most 
> cases I will not tune the piano if they want the pitch leveled out 1/2 step 
> below. I ain't happy  with a half _ _ _ job. I pasted up a job yesterday. The 
> customer wanted his piano tuned where it was.....1/2 step below pitch. I told 
> him it was like changing the oil in his car and not the filter. I just do not 
> want to do it the wrong way. Now if the piano is a piece of _ _ _ _  and will 
> not hold up to pitch then I will level it at the highest possible pitch. How 
> do I know the highest pitch. I pull it up and let it settle. By the way, I am 
> the OLD SCHOOL. I am almost 60 years old and have been at this...... over 30 
> years. 
> 
> Tommy Black
> Decatur, Ala.