Tuning question (was Pianotech list)

[Dave Nereson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dave Davis" <davistunes@yahoo.com>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2003 5:39 PM
Subject: Tuning question (was Pianotech list)


> Hi Gang,
> 
> Okay, I have legitimate piano related questions to
> whet the Pianotech appetite.  (For those who are still
> here).
> 
> I've been tuning with RCT for less than a year and am
> now seriously studying the art of aural tuning.  In
> reading the PTG Tuning Exam Source Book, I've found a
> couple of nagging questions.  
> 
> #1.  In making "2 passes" to tune the piano, do most
> people include tuning the unisons in each pass, or
> just the temperament and octaves, then the unisons in
> the second pass?  (pretending the piano is within 4
> cents of A-440)
> 
> #2.  I'm overwhelmed with all the different tests
> involved in checking the treble and bass.  What are
> the most effective tests used by the masses in every
> day tuning?
> 
> I'm planning to take the RPT Tuning Exam later this
> year and am practicing up a storm to get it down
> right.  According to the RCT, I'm catching on pretty
> well.  
> 
> If this goes well and doesn't raise political or moral
> posts, I'll have more questions in a few days.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Dave Davis
> Renton, WA
> Puget Sound Chapter

#1.  If you don't do unisons with each pass, no matter how many passes, you're wasting passes since when you do pull in the unisons, they'll exert their added downward pressure on the bridges/soundboard, throwing out of tune your carefully refined temperament and octaves.  Also, if the piano is quite flat, and you back off strings a touch before raising them (or even if you don't), the strings can pull around the hitch pin enough to throw the other half of the string loop out of tune. 

#2.  After tuning for lo, these many years, I find that for the average casual piano player, i.e. the average home piano used by non-professionals, I could probably satisfy most ears using nothing but 4ths, 5ths, and octaves.  But I don't.  I quickly set the temperament using first,  three contiguous Major 3rds, then the rest by 4ths and 5ths.  Then I tune up the treble by octaves only, then the unisons.  Then the bass by octaves only, then the unisons.  That takes about 15, 20 minutes.  To use the ETD would slow me down.  But then I start over, with the ETD, and go from bottom to top, pulling in unisons as I go.  Then I pull out the earplugs, and do a final check by ear, tweaking this and that.  Still takes me and hour and a half -- just can't seem to get my time under that (unless it's a piano that gets tuned more than once a year).  But that's OK.
    As far as checks, the quickest checks are 4ths, 5ths, and octaves.  For bass octaves, the M6-m3; for mid-range octaves the M3-M10, for upper octaves, the double octave test and the 12th (octave plus a fifth).  In the temperament, I guess the most common tests are the M3-M6 test for fourths and either the M3-m3 test or the M6-M10 test for fifths.  Then when you're all done, check smoothness of M3rds and M10ths, M6ths, if you want to.  Octave plus a seventh is good, too, for the low bass.  
    For the test, though, there's much more I would check, but I'm just listing the more common checks here.  
    --Dave Nereson, RPT, Denver