[CAUT] Harpsichord tuning tips/string setting

[Fred Sturm]

On Dec 2, 2005, at 2:19 PM, central wrote:

>
> Fred and All,
>       A visiting harpsichordist many years ago, (sorry, cant  
> remember his
> name), observed my piano like pin setting technique on his  
> harpsichord and
> commented, "you must always approach pitch from below."  He said that
> approaching target pitch from above will result in the string going  
> sharp.
> If it is flat just raise to pitch not beyond.  (This is for pin and  
> string
> setting only, not overall pitch raising)  Somehow it seemed counter
> intuitive.  What do you think?
> -Mike Jorgensen

     I dunno, these darned harpsichordists don't know anything <G>. I  
have heard all sorts of things, including people who rail against  
ever using a gooseneck (I don't see how they can stand a T hammer,  
when a gooseneck will work - the extra leverage and minute control  
make it so much easier, as long as you know how to allow for or  
incorporate a bit of flagpoling - or avoid the effect altogether by  
the direction you place the hammer). I think it's all in the minutia  
of the technique. How much attention do you pay to where the pitch  
has moved while you are putting pressure on the hammer, as opposed to  
noticing by feeling precisely how much the pin has turned in the  
block - ignoring what you are hearing? The "natural" tendency of the  
amateur is to tie the movement of the hammer/pin to what the ear is  
hearing. There is no question that it is somewhat less intuitive to  
arrive at a stable point from above as opposed to below. It takes a  
different set of feedback loops (what you hear, what you feel, how  
you react).  I think this is the source of that particular "old  
wives' tale." It's just harder to learn to lower than to raise.
     But in the final analysis, the proof is in the pudding. When you  
think you have it there, if you give the hammer that little jiggle,  
and the pitch meanders just above and just below, and settles at  
right in the middle, you've got it. If it doesn't, you try again.  
Eventually, with persistence, you learn good technique, and from  
above or from below is irrelevant. If a string is barely sharp, I do  
my utmost to move the pin just enough to put it exactly where I want  
it. I certainly don't make sure to overshoot so I can approach from  
below.

Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm@unm.edu