whoa... back

[James Grebe]

Hi Jay,
How can you expect anyone who hasn't had their piano tuned in 30 years to
know anything that could be factual about tuning.  There is no way that
piano can hold tune after not being tuned in that long and after a pitch
raise for 6 months.  You need to educate them while you are their the first
time that it is just the beginning of getting the piano in shape again.
James Grebe
R.P.T. of the P.T.G
pianoman@inlink.com
Creator of Handsome Hardwood Caster Cups and Practical Piano Peripherals in
St. Louis, MO
-----Original Message-----
From: Jay/Deb Mercier <mercier@minnewaska.com>
To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Sunday, October 18, 1998 9:41 PM
Subject: whoa...


>
>Get a load of this.
>
>I tuned for a new client a week ago.  Performed a pitch raise and tuning
all
>in one trip on a 30 year old Gulbransen spinet.  Okay, all done, collected
>the money and said "See you in 6 months."  And that was that.
>
>It was a week later that she calls (yesterday) and says that the middle E
>sounds funny.  I said "how does it sound funny, in what way".  She then
>played the note over the phone.  I couldn't distinguish if the unisons
>slipped or not, but decided I'd stop by for a quick re-tune of the E
unisons
>if needed.
>
>The funny part came next when she says "And listen to this!  Doesn't this
>sound out of tune?  It sounds awful."  Nervously, I listened again over the
>phone and heard a disonant minor 2nd.  After hearing what she played
(middle
>E and middle F together), I assumed that she was only striking either the E
>or the F and one of the hammers was catching the other in the action.  At
>this point I was thinking to myself, "how did this happen within one week?"
>
>After a bit more conversation it turned out to be a first, and a funny
>first.  She was playing both keys - E and F together and assuming that they
>(a minor 2nd) would sound "in tune" or sound great to her ear.
>
>YYEEEEEEEEOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
>Now how do you explain this one?
>
>Jay
>