Tuning Complaint - Happy Customer!

[Farrell]

Well, I went back to visit Amazing Grace Friday morning. We chatted a bit - I was trying to explore her definition of "flat". We pretty much got nowhere. I needled a few notes softer (hard, hard nasty hammers). She liked that. I steamed the whole mess of 'em, using Roger Jolly's technique. She liked that a lot. Then after listening to the tuning, and hearing quite a few bad unisons, etc. - and making all sort of excuses in my head about the piano having been 40 cents flat and a crummy piano at that - I asked her if she minded if I made one tuning pass through it. She had no objection. So I tuned it again. It still sounded cruddy, but pretty much as good as it was going to get. I fumbled through Amazing Grace for her and she said "Now that sounds a lot better - like it used to".

I figgered at that point I was done. She thanked me profusely.

I don't think I clearly identified the problem she was complaining about, but in the end she seemed quite happy. I sure glad that at most I have gotten perhaps one call back per year.

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Farrell" <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2002 8:33 AM
Subject: Tuning Complaint - Help!


> Wouldn't you know it. The other day I had a great compliment from a professional pianist that I put the best tuning he had ever received on his Yamaha U3. Today I get my first tuning complaint!
> 
> I am looking for recommendations on how to handle this one. The elderly (mid-eighties) woman call me and tells me that some other tuner tuned her piano a couple weeks ago, but it still sounds flat - will I tune it for her? Sucker me says yes. I go there three days ago. Kimball/Whitney 36" spinet, 1960s. A real gem. Piano is pretty much in one piece, but typical for the breed. The piano was indeed 40 cents flat. I thought - "hey, this lady's got pretty good ears."
> 
> So I raise the pitch to A441 and use the Thomas Moore temperament. I give it a second fine tuning pass. Piano ended up sounding, er, a, well, like a tuned 1960s Kimball/Whitney 36" spinet. I play some scales and cords. She says it sounds good. Great. Collect fee, chit-chat about cute dog. Say good bye.
>   
> She just called this morning and says her piano sounds flat. It is just like before I got there. I ask her to play middle C. It sounds the same as my Boston grand at home (pitch-wise at least). It is not 40 cents flat. 
> 
> She asks me to listen to her play Amazing Grace. This is not one of my top tunes, but I do know how the melody goes. I have no idea what she played. It was just a bunch of notes mashed together. I think perhaps she doesn't know her notes very well and thinks that the bad sounds are the tuning, rather than the playing.
> 
> This woman is very sweet, and did not call with an aggressive tone at all - she is not trying to be antagonistic - she honestly thinks her piano is flat ('course, maybe she is just hearing "bad" piano). I want to make her comfortable with the situation, but I know that I can't significantly improve the tuning on this nasty little piano - it is indeed pretty much where it needs to be (although one could make an argument for the dump).
> 
> Any suggestions on how I can show her that the piano is as good as it is reasonably going to get? I don't play. I could possibly drag my wife over there and get her to play Amazing Grace.
> 
> Thanks for any suggestions.
> 
> Terry Farrell
>