Unison Flatter than each Individual string?

[Robin Hufford]

David,
     I do know a very, very good tuner who DOES use a tenth, if memory serves me correctly, but this is doing it the
hard way. I am sure he continues with this method as he gets acceptable results and is habituated to it and probably
learned, as many have, including myself at one time, incorrectly.  This is, by no means, an uncommon misconception
although its frequency of occurrence is diminishing.
      It is, far easier to learn the use of a reference tone if the reference tone produces a harmonic close to the
targeted tone and fork.   The seventeenth below any note, which is just a tenth plus an octave,  will produce just such
a partial that is close to the note started with whereas the tenth does not.  This partial beats  readily with the
original note or with a fork and can be easily compared.  There are others, some of which I listed in the post.
Basically, any note below a given note that has a partial that approximates the given note can be used as a reference
tone.  Restricting ourselves to the first eight partials of the harmonic series, that still leaves seven or eight
possibilities I think.
     To see some of these one only has to overlay the harmonic series over the keyboard, either visually or
conceptually and, while  proceeding from any given note, determine if its overtone series produces A(4).  If so, the
note  is a candidate for use as a reference tone.  To reiterate; obviously, these will be the  notes which have the
A(4) in their overtone structure but F(3) is not one of them.    However, F(2) does produce a coincident partial and is
a good candidate for such use.   F(2) to A(4) is a seventeenth.
      It occurs to me after typing the above paragraph that another, and probably better,  way to see these
possiblities is to take any given note, that is the note to be tuned, in this case A(4) and proceed DOWNWARD using the
intervals of the harmonic series as a guide. Where one proceeds upward using first the octave then the fifth, the
fourth, maj third, min third, do this but go in the other direction.  This works down  to the min third and when
proceeding downward is exactly analagous to proceeding upwards except that after this point one should end the series
with another minor third, making a total of two in the series as distinct from the intervals proceeding upwards.  The
reason for this is that the last minor third makes the 21st and is a very efficient reference tone.  This could be
continued, although to what purpose I am not sure, to even lower notes.
Regards, Robin Hufford

David Ilvedson wrote:

> It has been awhile since I tuned with a fork but I believe thats the test I used...how would do it aurally?...17th?
>
> David I.
>
>