Pitch Raise Experiment

[Farrell]

This post is perhaps most directed toward those having questions regarding
the feasibility of raising a one hundred year old very flat piano up to
standard pitch.

My 12 year old son needed to do a science experiment and chose to
investigate the breaking strength of assorted sizes of piano strings.
Several sizes were installed at A4 and tightened until they broke, while
measuring pitch with the AccuTuner.

The subject piano was a 1901 Everett grand that was clearly all original
strings and was 250 cents flat. All strings had quite a bit of surface
corrosion visible.

The original A4 was tested first. It was brought up to 440 hertz, and then
up 100 cents, up another 100, up, up, up until it went to 75 cents sharp of
D5 before it broke! This old puppy went 560 cents sharp before breaking! New
strings were installed at the same location and went about 100 cents more
sharp before breaking.

Believe me, I have had plenty of strings break on old pianos - and clearly
the strings on a very few old pianos will simply not hold the tension of
standard pitch. The point here is that old strings clearly have the
potential of holding standard pitch - and then some - and presumably many
will hold standard pitch just fine. I think we needn't be shy about
attempting to raise the pitch of an older (and otherwise sound) instrument
to standard pitch.

Terry Farrell