Tuning

[Jay/Deb Mercier]

This is the method I use too.  Nailing the F to A major third, A to C#,
etc...  Starting to tune with this temperment wasn't so difficult in the
early years.  The part that was difficult for me was lining up the fifths
and fourths after I thought the thirds were right on.  Whoa, was I in for
some work ahead.  In fact, I didn't even bother listening to the fifths and
fourths during the first two years of tuning (those were the experimental
$25.00 dollar jobs).  After a few complaints, I realized I needed to work on
accuracy in the thirds, but also test those thirds with fourths and fifths.

The combination of setting a temperament with thirds and then fine adjusting
of fifths and fourths has worked well for me.

This is the "Steggeman" temperament I learned from tuning class in Shell
Lake, WI.

Good luck and have fun with it!

Jay


>Jonathan,
>
>I agree that you should eventually aim for a temperament based on all
>these intervals at once. I think a good place to start, assuming you're
>setting a temperament from F to F, is to learn to recognize the correct
>setting of the F to A major third. Once you can nail that, learn the A to
>C# rate. If you can set those intervals correctly, you have the framework
>for a good temperament, even if you fill in the gaps with fourths and
>fifths. Even if you're doing different temperaments, you need to
>eventually train your ear to do thirds.
>
>It's actually fun to be able to "nail" thirds, especially when you
>remember that it was once predicted, in the days before Dr. White, that it
>was too much to ask of tuners. Now we all do it. It just takes ear
>training by much repetition and listening.
>
>Mark Graham
>Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music
>Berea, Ohio
>
>
>