pitch fork?

[PHIL SLOFFER, MA067 855-1244]

Hi All
I am laughing as I write this so don't take it too seriously.  I
use a steel tuning fork from Schaff with a long stem so it is
easy to hold.  I usually put it in my teeth to listen but
sometimes hold it to the bottom of the piano.  I tune the fork
from time to time and check it a couple times a year or after I
drop it.  It is a steel fork and will vary with temperature just
like pianos do.  The most I have ever been able to vary the pitch
of the fork is about one beat per second.  That's the difference
between a cold fork and a warm fork.  So if the fork is cool it
is close enough although I am aware that it changes a few cents
when I handle it to use it.

The point I wanted to make is that pianos will change pitch and
are not accurate either.  You can set pitch with anything you
like but as soon as the temperature changes the pitch of the
piano will change with it.

Some examples of conditions that I deal with.

     Tuning a piano off stage and then moving it on
     stage under lights.

     The closet that the piano is kept in is not the
     same temperature as the stage area.

     Any change in the weather and the building will
     change too.

     Or the only time to tune the piano is very early
     in the morning and at that time the air
     conditioning is shut down to save money and the
     hall is warmer than it will be in the day time
     when the air is back on.

So what does one do?  You have to use your own judgement.  Your
own judgement will be needed no matter which source of pitch you
use whether fork or electronic.  You will have to decide if you
change pitch or let the pitch alone even if it is not at A440,
keeping in mind what pitch you want to maintain.

Anyway enough said for now.  I am enclosing part of a letter I
sent to Ron Berry for your amusement.

 ------------------------------------------------------------
|  Phil Sloffer     Ph (812) 339-1831   Depart not from the  |
|                   IU (812) 855-1244   path which fate has  |
|  psloffer@indiana.edu                 you assigned.        |
|  phillip149@aol.com                  from a fortune cookie |
 ------------------------------------------------------------

The following is an extract from a letter to Ron Berry from Phil
Sloffer written sometime in June 1994.

Hi Ron
Just finished tuning a piano and entered it in my tuning log and
thought I would drop you a note.  We all keep chugging along down
here in our own little world as if nothing else matters.

We have a computer in the shop which all of us use. We keep track
of piano inventory on this machine and use it for email and do a
little word processing.  Mostly memos but a little letter writing
too.

We also got an Accu-tuner for the shop.  All of us have tried it
but know body uses it.  Once in a while something comes up and it
is nice to have it.  Just this week-end I was tuning a
forte-piano in the MAC for a recording.  They wanted it tuned at
A430.  I have an A427.5 fork that I made for tuning John Eaton
1/4 tone pianos.  I usually use that fork and count 2 and 1/2
beat sharp to get A430.  Well night before last I loaned that
fork to Steve so he could tune and then yesterday evening when I
came in to tune I realized Steve still had my fork.  I paged him
and he was at the movies with his kids and my fork was at his
house.  So I grabbed the Accu-tuner and............

     At this point I should mention that it never occurred to me
     to use this machine to tune the forte-piano.  In fact I did
     not think of that until I had gone home.

..................and I turned it on.  I took an extra fork I had
in my desk and put it in the vice and went to work on it with a
file.  I filed the fork and checked it with the Accu-tuner until
I had made my fork 40 cents flat i.e. A430 Hz.  I then proceeded
to the MAC stage and tuned the forte-piano.  They checked the
pitch of the piano and also my fork and said it was perfect.  You
are laughing now suppose.  It really never occurred to me to take
the Accu-tuner over and set the pitch from that.  All I could
think of was that I needed a tuning fork and it had to be A430
which is 40 cents flat and with the help of the Accu-tuner I was
able to make the fork I needed.  Oh well.

Well I have things to do and you do too so I will end this little
story and we can all get back to other things.

Later, Phil