[pianotech] (..and birds!)

[Raymond Irving]

Hi list,

A while back I tuned for a friend, who happens to be a veterinary  
assistant. She also owns several birds, of the talk and squawk  
variety. My wife was along, having pleasant conversation in another  
room, where the birds were caged. Using my trusty RCT, tuning was as  
usual, and in fact sounding fine, till I moved to the treble and  
worked my way up. The birds decided to “help”, by making sure I  
focused on my aural skills. One in particular was able to mimic the  
pitch I was playing exactly, but moved in half steps all the way to  
the top! That is, when I tuned a C, the bird learned that, and  
continued to sing C when I moved on to C#. C# to D, etc., ALL the way  
up.To add to the frustration, the girls were in hysterics in the other  
room. Who knew tuning could be so amusing! I was ready to give the  
birds a nice bath in olive oil and basil, but didn't. Oh, it's funny  
NOW...

Raymond Irving

P.S. Ron N., thanks for the cat photo.