[pianotech] Test Blows

[Thomas Cole]

As Paul says, having good technique is the important thing. But what is 
good technique is the question and the answer difficult to put into 
words when it is largely an intuitive process, changeable as we adapt to 
different conditions, different pianos.

The hard pounding style of tuning probably comes from tuners who worked 
in, or learned from tuners who worked in, the factories. Hard pounding 
is needed to settle the new strings, although nowadays factories like 
Yamaha have a nice machine that does that in a soundproofed room.

Another situation is a piano that is below pitch where pounding can help 
equalize tension from tuning pin to hitch pin. Once string settling and 
pitch adjustment has been done, however, then careful manipulation of 
the tuning pin is in order, paying attention to how the pin feels in the 
pin block. This is where experience comes in and it is especially 
helpful to have a tuning gig where you come in once or twice a week to 
tune the same piano. If the unisons sound good after hard playing or 
changes in the temp/humidity, that would indicate you have a solid 
technique. The trick is to approach the tuning of each string of a 
unison with the same technique.

Of course there are concert situations which will require some heavy 
test blows for security's sake. My point is to minimize the amount of 
pounding in general which can take its toll on body parts, ears and 
nerves. Also it makes no sense to pound on a Wurlitzer spinet that gets 
gentle playing by a 7-year-old girl, an old upright with brittle strings 
and cedar hammer shanks, or a Betsy Ross spinet with plastic elbows.

Tom Cole



Paul McCloud wrote:
>
> It’s always good to make a “test” blow, just to be sure it’s there to 
> stay. But I don’t recommend pounding the devil out of it. If you have 
> good technique, you won’t need to pound. If you pound hard, you may 
> find that the string ends up sharp later, especially in the top octaves.
>
> Paul McCloud
>
> San Diego
>
> *From:* pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] 
> *On Behalf Of *Court Stewart
> *Sent:* Thursday, September 03, 2009 8:57 AM
> *To:* pianotech at ptg.org
> *Subject:* [pianotech] Test Blows
>
> List, though this subject has been discussed many times before, I 
> figured it wouldn't hurt to get some more input.
>
> Does anyone here use a "soft" tuning technique that they feel results 
> in as stable a tuning as using traditional hard test blows? With all 
> the discussions we have regarding hearing protection, and special 
> "pounders" made of hammer heads, etc., I know it's a matter of concern 
> to many. Assuming good hammer technique is present, is it possible to 
> dependably (and efficiently) equalize string section tensions without 
> a good "whack"?
>
> Thanks for your thoughts.
>
> -Court Stewart
>