[CAUT] Harpsichord tuning tips/string setting

[Fred Sturm]

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On 12/3/05 10:47 AM, "Don McKechnie" <dmckech@ithaca.edu> wrote:

> Mike and Fred,
>=20
> Some years ago I had some one on one instruction from Bill Dowd on regula=
ting,
> tuning and voicing. Bill was of the same opinion as Mike's harpsichordist=
. For
> the most part, that is how I have tuned ever since. It does not always wo=
rk
> with certain pins, certain instruments. One just has to adjust some times=
. I
> believe Bill Garlick was in favor of this method as well but he got a goo=
d bit
> of his training from Dowd. BTW, I can't see how people can use the goosen=
eck
> to tune a harpsichord. :-) Bill & Bill were in favor of the T handle as w=
ell.
>=20
> Don
>=20
Hi Don,
    Yes, I am very aware that these opinions are widespread among the
harpsichord community, and rise from very authoritative sources. Being one
of those ornery people who can=B9t seem to accept what an authoritative sourc=
e
says without having personally verified it, I choose to disagree based on m=
y
own experience, which is reasonably extensive.
    In the end, it comes down to doing what works for you. I can tune a
harpsichord with square headed pins five or six minutes faster, and with
less concentration and effort, using a gooseneck rather than a T hammer. If
it has a four foot, I=B9d make that 10 to 15 minutes faster. I just find the =
T
hammer more frustrating to use for minute turns. It=B9s easier to do a
controlled push or pull motion with the fingers at a greater leverage
advantage than it is to do a twist of the wrist. For me, anyway.
    As for the pull up to pitch notion, I don=B9t think it has any more
validity than the notion that one has to do the same with a piano. There is
an old school of thought that incorporates so-called =B3pin setting=B2 with
overall hammer technique: =B3pull it sharp a bit, then settle the pin back.=B2
This can be a very effective automatic physical technique for achieving a
stable tuning. But it is also quite possible to move a string to pitch and
stability by other means. For instance, one can turn the pin in the block i=
n
such a way that the string doesn=B9t come quite to pitch (from either
direction), by having the lever at an angle that doesn=B9t flagpole/twist the
pin in the direction you are moving pitch,  and then pull the string throug=
h
the bearing friction points using jerking/flagpoling/twisting action and se=
t
it at dead stable. It all depends on the minutia of your hammer technique,
and there are infinite variables available.
    In the end, on harpsichord or piano, one must move the pin in the block
the precise amount needed, and, separately or at the same time, stabilize
the string and pin. A technique that does all at the same time can be the
most efficient, and =B3pull from below=B2 is probably intended in that light =AD
and it will work assuming your hammer technique is correct, accounting for
any flagpoling and twist (sometimes you find harpsichords with tight enough
blocks that this is a real issue). But, as I wrote in my earlier post, if
you are above pitch to begin with, it is just as possible to move directly
down to stable pitch, with the same variables in play.
    So the =B3pull from below=B2 advice might make for a good set of automatic
motions to learn, but it doesn=B9t really have an absolute physical validity,
IMO.=20
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico



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