a tuning question

[J Patrick Draine]

I can't speak for Reading PA but January 2004 was extremely dry, and if 
I had set a stable piano to A440 back then it would be sharp at the 
current RH level (it's raining buckets right now, and was warm for a 
couple days).
And don't forget the impact that room temperature has on pitch. Perhaps 
the heat was set lower for your recent visit, but you tuned it on a day 
when the heat had been set at a comfortable level.
It's not uncommon for me to arrive at a church to find the temperature 
in the mid 50s -- if I tune it to A440 it will be flat Sunday morning 
when the church has been warmed up for the congregation's comfort.
patrick draine


On Feb 16, 2005, at 4:27 PM, Alpha88x@aol.com wrote:

> Greetings,
>
>                 In Feb '04 I tuned two church pianos that were below 
> pitch. They were  down at about A430 or less. After I was done they 
> were A440. I did pitch raises. This year, I went back and found that 
> both pianos were about 10 cycles sharp...and this is February...the 
> heat has been on for 4+ months the things should be flat, if anything, 
> right? But nooo.... they're sharp.
>
>                On the first piano, (a Kawaii studio upright) I 
> thought: "Ok this is in a basement (choir rehearsal room) and it could 
> be that moisture absorbed into the thing and so it's sharp". However, 
> when I got upstairs to the sanctuary ( a Steinway console)  piano, its 
> even sharper(!) (about 3 cycles sharper than the one in the basement) 
> and a little business card of another tuner is in there; a date on it 
> reads:
>  8-9-04  A440...along with a list of other dates that indicated that 
> they were tuned twice a year by this tuner. (That card with dates was 
> in there last February too).
>
>                I am a stickler for A440 so today I took each of the 
> pianos and made them A4440 again. My question is: WHY? Why were these 
> pianos so ***@#$*#$%^% sharp!!!??
>  Could it be that the other tuner turned them up in August 04 after I 
> was there in Feb '04?  The story was when I was called in that were 
> tuned regularly by this other tuner, (the card indicated such)  Yet, 
> the pianos were so flat when I was called in, in Feb '04 that I had to 
> pull them both up....what gives????
>
>
>  Julia Gottchall.
>  Reading, PA
>