When the sanctuary piano is tuned, it's important to have the temperature of the sanctuary the same as it will be at the time of the worship service. What happens after the piano is tuned is of only a little importance. The piano will come back in tune when the temperature (humidity) is the same as when it is tuned. It will happen over and over. I lead the music at a small open country church and regularly tune the piano...more for me and God than anyone else. I can tell when the environmental conditions are the same as when I tuned it, primarily the temperature, because the piano is in tune. When the conditions are not, the piano is a bit out of tune. A prime example: I tuned a piano for an open country Methodist church one December. It was comfortable in the sanctuary, certainly not warm, but comfortable for me. In January I received a call from the mother of the pianist, who is my contact person, and she said her son indicated the piano went suddenly out of tune. I set up a time to meet her son and find out what the problem was. When I entered the sanctuary he was playing, and I thought to myself, "that piano is still in tune." He heard me walking down the aisle and exclaimed, the piano sounded great. He asked what happened between then and today? The temperature was about what it was when I tuned it. I asked if the temp was the same on Sunday? He said we always keep it at this temperature but when the little old ladies come in, they turn it way up. Problem solved! Just a few degrees of temperature change...especially in the winter in our area (relative humidity averages 70% or more year-round) will make a difference in the tuning. In rural churches where they leave just enough heat on to keep the pipes from freezing, it makes all the difference in the world. Another story: I tuned a Steinway A for a Methodist church in a small neighboring town. I asked the contact person to have the heat at the temperature it is when they worship, which they did. As I was tuning the lady minister came in and asked in a rather exasperated voice, "are you comfortable?" I asked her if the temperature was the same as when they worship and she said yes. I said, "I'm a bit warm, but if the piano is 'comfortable,' so am I!" She exclaimed, "I thought you wanted the heat turned up for your comfort!" I said no, I can tune under some extreme conditions, but the piano would go out of tune when the temperature moderated. She was quite happy with my explanation. Joy! Elwood Rev. Elwood Doss, Jr., M.M.E., RPT Piano Technician/Technical Director Department of Music 145 Fine Arts Building The University of Tennessee at Martin Martin, TN 38238 731/881-1852 FAX: 731/881-7415 HOME: 731/587-5700 -----Original Message----- From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Tim Coates Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2007 5:10 PM To: College and University Technicians Subject: [CAUT] Church Heat I found this question and answer in the Sunday paper. I understand the answer is concerning the building, but with churches I tend to be concerned about other issues besides just the building. Anyone have some thoughts about this issue? Tim Coates
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC