selling the pitchraise:student's neurology andinappropriateaural reference

[Susan Kline]

At 03:50 PM 4/26/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>May seem like a dumb question, but how do we know when a piano needs to be 
>tuned
>to A435.

No question is dumb.

I've seen pianos which had decals right on the plate, saying "French Pitch: 
A=435."
More, or course, do not. However, if I check a piano's serial number in 
Pierce, and
it dates before about 1910, I am aware that it might not be designed for 
A=440. Of
course, I tune a lot of old uprights to 440, but if the piano is already 
low, and
dates from around the turn of the (old) century, and isn't used with other
instruments, I talk with the owner, and sometimes we tune it to 435. 
Whether we
do also depends on the tone preferences of the owner and the general health 
(or
lack of health) of the instrument.

Susan