tuning HT's by ear

[A440A@aol.com]

Charles writes:

<< Putting aside the pros and cons of ET and HT's, I need to find an
effective way to put some stretch into my tuning.  >>

Using the normal octave checks of 10th/3rds, 17th/3rds, etc.  will allow you 
to determine how much stretch you are using.  It is hard to stretch too much 
if your double octaves have no more than a 1  bps roll in them.  
The slight deviations that you will encounter because you can't use 
sequential, chromatic steps to measure will be of little importance in a WT if your 
octaves are pleasing to the ear.  I think it was L. Armstrong who said, "If it 
sounds good, it IS good".  
  Trust your ears,  ET has a woeful habit of making us dependant on the 
intellectual testing via intervals as opposed to the purely sensual judgement of 
what the instrument sounds like!  If an octave seems to be shakey, measure it, 
move it around, and listen to it again.   
Good luck,  
Ed Foote RPT 
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html