In a message dated 2/27/99 11:04:42 AM Central Standard Time, jformsma@dixie- net.com writes: << you just keep your eye on the *next* tuning pin you will be tuning. With a piano that has normal tuning pin torque and that needs 25¢ or less of a pitch raise, you can often hit your mark with one stroke of the tuning hammer (using an impact type technique).>>> This is intriguing to me. Do you use rubber mutes doing this? I have noticed on some pianos that are significantly flat that the SAT will "hear" one string being raised to pitch even if the others are not muted, and that with a little practice, it is possible to aurally tune the other strings fairly close without having to use mutes. I never have been able to raise pitch as quickly as you, though. Guess that comes with much practice. John Formsma >> It has been a while but these issues have been discussed on the List before. I use and advocate muting strips. If I were to try to do this with single mutes, it would take me much longer and my job would be less accurate and stable. But this does not mean that strip mutes are a requirement, it is just that this method works for me personally. I am used to it and others are used to their methods that work for them. I also know at least one person who can do an aural pitch raise with no mutes at all. He is able to single out the string he is tuning and ignore the others. The SAT (and I suppose the RCT too) can do this. I, however, intensely dislike the sounds created when doing this and find them confusing, therefore it would not work for me. If you can do it with no mutes at all, you save the time it takes to insert and move the mutes. Some who dislike strip mutes say that it takes too long to insert them. However, in previous discussions, it came out that most experienced strip muters can mute the entire piano in about 1 minute. You have to remember that it takes time to insert and move single mutes as well. With the strip mutes, you move quickly and easily from one note to the next, never putting down your tuning hammer or interrupting the rhythm of your movements. Remember that in a pitch raise, you don't have to be completely accurate and the stability that you want for any given string is to be enforced in the subsequent fine tuning. Ask your self this or better yet try it yourself: How long would it take you to put your tuning hammer on each pin and take it off without turning the pin itself? If you try this, you might find that you can move through the entire piano in about the same time as Steve Fairchild did in his World Record setting speed of just under 5 minutes. Now all you have to do is have a situation where you are changing the pitch a moderate amount, all about the same. If you concentrate on getting the hammer on the pin, making your stroke and moving right on to the next pin, you may find that you too, can often get the string to the desired pitch with a single stroke. The time it would take to get the hammer on, strike the key and the hammer, get it off and on to the next pin may well be only about 2 seconds. If you could do this all the way through the piano, your tuning would take less than 8 minutes. This is about the amount of time it took George Defebaugh to pitch raise a console piano 20¢ in his demonstrations. I'll never forget his words, "You can tune a piano twice a lot faster than you can fight with it once". We have talked recently about hammer technique and I affirmed that I do what I learned from Jim Coleman. His technique is one of the less common ones, but again, it works for him as it does for me. He places the hammer at the 2 o'clock position and strikes it gently with the palm of his hand. I recall seeing him way back in 1979 at the Annual Convention in Minneapolis. It looked to me as if he were giving the hammer a "karate chop". Before that, I tuned very awkwardly, resting my elbow somewhere and using a slow, pulling motion. In my opinion, this is not only a very much less effective and stabilizing way to change the pitch of a string, it is far more conducive to string breakage. For about 8 years now, I have used one of the "Wonder Wand" tuning hammers made by Charles Huether RPT. It has a ball about the size of a pool table ball at the end of it instead of the usual handle. This allows me to impact the hammer with the palm of my hand in a relaxed position. If I need to grip the ball, there is still far less stress on the muscles of my forearm. In short, it reduces overall stress and so creates less fatigue. You have to be concerned about Repetitive Motion Disorders doing this kind of work in that quantity and at that kind of pace. Stress reduction is very important. Although I can tune perfectly well by ear and did so for well over 20 years, the SAT also reduces the stress of everyday tuning greatly. The lower level of stress, increased speed and consistency that the SAT affords make it possible for me to do twice or more the amount of work each day than many tuners are capable of. Still, I do not consider that what I do to be extraordinary. After all, I learned these things by attending PTG Conventions and seminars. I never had any formal training as a piano technician. I learned to do what I do out of the necessity of earning a living and the need to cope with the logistics and stress of doing so. If there are some of you who would like some private tutoring with me at the Convention, please let me and one of the Institute Directors (try Laura Kunsky) know and I may be able to accommodate you. I'd like to see more people know how to do what I consider to be quite the ordinary. Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin
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