[pianotech] Exams discussion - Odd?

[Encore Pianos]

Hi David:

Thank you very much for such an eloquent explanation of the test and your
approach to tuning.  There is something to listen to for every aural tuner
in here, and something also for every electronic tuner.  

Duane, if you are reading this now, I can only encourage you to still your
mind, reread this and reread it again, and allow yourself to understand the
purposes and motivations expressed here.  And while one might argue that
David is showing that there are good reasons for electronic tuners  to
develop aural skills  (and he is saying the converse for aural tuners and
electronic aids), the driving force here is the pursuit of excellence in a
purpose driven life.  It has practical value, and provides "soul food" as
well.  

Will Truitt   

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of David Renaud
Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2012 1:16 PM
To: joegarrett at earthlink.net; pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Exams discussion - Odd?

Hello joe

     I am a current CTE, and have attempted much input on this thread.

    Regarding master tunings.
    The master tuning is aural.  An examination team may "pretune" the
instrument With a machine to make sure it is at pitch, stable, close, and
ready to begin A master tuning. But then the master tunings is begun from
scratch  aurally. 
The master tuning can take many many hours as the team negotiates making
that piano The best it can be.

   To be clear to those that are assuming a tuning program is used for a
master tuning. 
It is not used to create the tuning, only to record the aural tuning. It is
also used to monitor General drift of the piano, if it moves too far because
of humidity or temperature changes the master tuning must be re started.

    Another comment made suggested a candidate might check a note with a
machine to "prove" 
It is "bang on"   The whole section was already read with a machine,
offsets for any drift were applied so that all the notes are evaluated most
fairly, relative to each other. And the machine has ear marked it as wrong
already. It may still pass aural tests in the blind aural verification, and
not be a deduction though. 

     It was an education the first time I participated in taking a good
machine pre tuning from Scratch to a master tuning aurally with a good team.
The variations made from the pre tuning were Significant and seemed to
follow a pattern with intermittent  regular jumps. ; if graphed looking like
waves( little anomalies,but a clear pattern)...to the back of the piano with
the numbers,  and indeed the  Jumps were exactly at the changes of string
sizes. Smoothing out the aural progressions to Compensate for inharmonisity
was following the stringing scale. This makes so much sense. They preserve a
string size then, oops, better change now, the inhamicity is starting to get
a little too wild now, ah its better......a few notes latter.....oops I
guess we better change string size again.
      
    What really struck me the first time was how quite large these
variations can be, and how much smoother it made the aural progressions. I
really started to tweak my Tunelab tunings more.  The few samples we take on
these programs creates a generalized stretch, but has no idea where the
dozen or do string size changes take place, and can not compensate for the
waves of  varying scaling inharmoniisity .



    For any of us that may be tempted to think we, or our machines are
"perfect" , or "good enough", or think that our ears are "superior" , may I
encourage us all to adopt the attitude of A musician and artist that is
always striving for more.  In that interest here are some questions We
should have answers for, and principles we should be in touch with. I am
always asking These questions, and find myself monitoring their answers. If
you don't know the answers, start measuring.


1) how close are those unisons. How good is good, can they be tighter.
.9 cents is just not good enough, can I achieve zero......or not.
Measure the 3 stringsbe in touch with how you are negotiating the three
strings aurally.

2) how much drift is taking place and in what sections. Don' t assume where
you Put it is where is stays. Even on a machine pitch raise....yes it gets
it very close, but Just an extra cent drift in the low tenor, but not in the
bass leaves one aurally with some Funky 5ths in the left hand. Drift is
there even if microscopic, identify it, know it.

3) how much inharmonisity are we negotiating. I like measuring a few
samples, and there is A relationship between the amount of inharmonisity and
how much I have to tweak a machine Tuning, expecially in the low tenor area.

4) how is stability. Test it from time to time. Measure, really hit it, and
measure again. Is It truely rock solid or did it drop half a cent. Half a
cent is 100% on the exam, but I have been motived by witnessing some
candidates tunings that just can not be moved even a tenth of a cent. I can
do better.

5) how much am I stretching the top, and why am I making the choices I am. I
have found I really have gravitated to liking 12ths up top. What does more
or less do to the music's "bite"  I try some variation up there, and there
are choices to make. 

Musicians practice. After decades of professional performance they still do
private practice monitoring their sound, articulation, pitch, and
perception. We should take personnel time to Monitor what we are doing, know
where we are, and set our targets a little beyond what we are already doing.

   I hear the objections already; This is a business, we want efficiency,
etc. etc.
Yes, yes and yes. I also need to make a living, and yes a 20 cent pitch
raise on an old Rusty spinet does gets a "commercial" tuning, and that is
good, and their are other priorities. 
BUT. We need to push the boundaries where we can, and where appropriate, to
become The best we can be. So often a concert call, music school, choir,
music teacher, is the top Of a pyramid of dozens of other clients. 12
premier venues/clients, means hundreds and hundreds of spin off  Clients
that are regulars. We need to be able to produce tunings that Satisfy the
most demanding clients and venues to broadcast standards, or we don't get
those Hundreds of spin off clients from the references, and reputations that
comes from being "the guy"  (or gal)

     It is common to coach a "machine" tuner towards the exam, and find they
have never really Measured their own unison strings to see just how tight
they are achieving or not. Why is that?
It is common to coach people that have never at any time tested and measured
numerically their own stability? Why is that?  Is is because as human beings
we are tempted towards the easy path, and take comfort in knowing it is
"perfect", or it is enough.  It is also in human nature to push our
boundaries, thus people push themselves in sports, wringing, composition,
research, Investing time and energy for personnel growth and/or society's
benefit without remuneration.
The professional artists we serve have spent tens of thousands of hours of
personnel time over A lifetime, without remuneration, practicing to push
their boundaries. The top people we serve Are programed this way, to look
for more, seek out their personnel limits,push them back and monitor the
progress.  

      I am tempted to become comfortable also, butThere is more. 
      Balance between efficiency, and growth, staying in touch with limits,
and choosing, Not being stuck because we can't. 
       Perfection in this world is an illusion, with a microscope we see the
rough edges. 
It's when we admit something is not perfect, and we don't take it
personally, but just seek ways To Deal with the imperfect, that we find
ourselves playing with those limits, and pushing them back. 

     There has been a great deal of personnel feelings expressed on this
thread. It is not personal at all. Some that do not agree with me, have
expressed themselves very well, and give food for thought. Thank you. Their
are choices to be made and efficiencies to be had. Never less, their is
value in taking the time to find limits and negotiate them. So many good
aural tuners, become hybrid tuners, have made the negotiation with the
numbers and analysis, and allowed themselves to the transformed into some of
the worlds greatest tuners. 

     Embrace it all. There Is value there.
     Looks like that has become my theme statement.....
  
                                   Cheers
                                     Dave Renaud.











Sent from my iPad

On 2012-05-13, at 11:44 AM, "Joseph Garrett" <joegarrett at earthlink.net>
wrote:

> It just struck me, how odd it is, that no "current" CTEs or 
> Examination Committee people have chimed in. I'll assume that's why 
> the "powers that be" are out of touch with the masses.
> Joe
> 
> 
> Joe Garrett, R.P.T.
> Captain of the Tool Police
> Squares R I
>