[CAUT] Steinway stretch (was Re: Steinway Verticals)

[Dorothy Bell]

> [Original Message]
> From: Fred Sturm <fssturm@unm.edu>
> To: College and University Technicians <caut@ptg.org>
> Date: 11/30/2004 1:20:40 PM
> Subject: Re: [CAUT] Steinway stretch (was Re: Steinway Verticals)
>
>     Talk to professional musicians who play "non-fixed pitch" instruments
> (winds and strings) and you'll find that ET is mostly an annoyance. When
> they are forced to play with a piano, instead of in a orchestra, band or
> ensemble of peer instruments, they have to make enormous adjustments,
which
> they find un-musical. They are used to bending pitch to blend, which
means,
> essentially (best I am able to decipher), narrowing major thirds and
sixths
> to beatless.

Actually, as a violinist, I would say "playing major thirds and sixths as
they are meant to be, without beats" -- but then the vibrato goes and
messes everything up beatwise, so I don't know. But you're absolutely
right, playing with a pianist means that everything has to be played "out
of tune" for a string player. No more narrowing of the half-step just below
the tonic note of the key (i.e., narrowing B3-C4 when in the key of C
major). Piano tuning by ET is a whole different way of looking at music.

Best wishes,
Dorrie Bell