<HTML><HEAD> <META charset=US-ASCII http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; cha= rset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1170" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fffff= f"> <DIV>In a message dated 4/12/04 9:21:15 PM Central Daylight Time, claviers@n= xs.net writes:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> <DIV>Jim: First you say:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>"This means that no matter how hard you pound, you will NOT equalize th= e tension between speaking lengths and string tails.  You will break so= mething before you can pound hard enough to do that.  What you WILL do = is cause it to move if it is about ready to move<BR>anyway."</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So I asked, if you don't pound, (or play softly), will the string move = any way. So you answered:</DIV></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue = 2px solid"><FONT face=Arial>No, Wim, I am NOT saying playing the note soft= ly will equalize the tension<BR>across the bridge.  You know that.&nbsp= ; I said pounding will cause it to move<BR>if it is about ready to move anyw= ay.  If the tension is not equalized<BR>across the bridge, but the stri= ng is about ready to move, but you play<BR>softly, nothing will happen.&nbsp= ; But if you do pound, or if the pianist<BR>pounds, then it will move, and t= he pitch of the speaking length will change.</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>So does this mean I should pound to equalize the string? If I don'= t pound, and the string doesn't equalize across the bridge, then when the pi= anist plays hard and does move the string, then the piano will be out of tun= e. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV><FONT face=Arial> <DIV><BR>"Now consider the fact that you have a whole bunch of strings whose= tensions<BR>are only partially equalized across the bridge, because there i= s no way you<BR>can completely equalize it.  All it takes is for the re= lative humidity to<BR>change, the bridge to swell or shrink, or the temperat= ure to change so that<BR>the difference in expansion coefficient between woo= d and steel will cause<BR>the string to slip a microscopic amount at the bri= dge, or someone to pound<BR>the key; the string will move at the bridge, and= your perfect unison tuning<BR>will be spoiled.  I think this makes lot= s of sense."</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>To me you're saying two different things. On the one hand you're saying= not to pound, because the string will move across the bridge anyway. But yo= u're also saying the string won't move across the bridge until you (or the p= ianist) plays loud. So what is a piano tuner to do? Tune softly, and le= t the strings not move across the bridge, or play loud, and move those strin= gs. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The other thing you're saying is that a little change in temperature or= humidity will cause a string to go out of tune. I can accept that to some d= egree. I saw your demonstration of that at one of the conventions. But you w= ere taking a hair drier to a string on a mini back. On the concert stage, mo= st of the time a piano is not going to be subjected to that kind of extreme = changes. I would think that having the string equalized would prevent m= ost microscopic differences. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Now granted, pounding to equalize tension, and playing so you can hear = the note, are two different things. I never said I listened to a p= ounding note as the final answer. All I said is that I pound to set the stri= ng and the pin. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>What makes sense to me is that if I don't pound every note, to get= every string to equalize across the bridge, I'm asking for trouble. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Wim </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV></BODY></HTML>