[pianotech] Crazy Otto tuning

Bruce Dornfeld bdornfeld at earthlink.net
Thu Sep 10 20:08:26 MDT 2009


One of the things I love about this work: after thirty years, there's always
something new.  Next week I will tune a couple of pianos to imitate the
Crazy Otto sound from his Decca recordings from the 1940's and 1950's.  I
just listened to a tape of a few pieces for the first time, pretty wild
ragtimey jazz!  I have heard of the honky tonk tunings some Nashville
studios use.  I guess it's pretty much the same: tuning the three string
"unisons" with the center string tuned normally, the left string one cent
flat and the right string, one cent sharp.  Listening to Crazy Otto, I
wonder if I should go even farther.  Even the bichords in the upper bass are
tuned a bit out.  How far do you go for a big fat honky tonk sound?  

 

Bruce Dornfeld, RPT

bdornfeld at earthlink.net

North Shore Chapter

 

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