tuning forks and beat rates

[Jason Kanter]

Reading all this discussion with great interest. It appears that you folks
generally use an A tuning fork. Zat so? I learned to use a middle C fork
(thick aluminum Kitching) and then set the temperament from F to F. Is that
method out of fashion these days?

(gawd I feel like such an old timer asking these kinds of questions, since
everything I learned was in the 70s ... went to the Piano Technicians
Convention in Cleveland in 1971 and I was the youngest guy there ... but I'm
just 51 and still a successful sales/service consultant and looking forward
to getting back into the tuning biz exclusively in later years)

and speaking of beat rates - I only remember one mnemonic for getting beat
rates, which was to repeat "from mississippi to new york" while watching a
second hand tick. This produces 8 syllables per second. There were other
mnemonics too, one for 7/sec and probably one for 9 or 10, but I don't
remember them. Can anyone chime in? This is just for sentimental value and
conversation piece, you know.

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   JASON KANTER * PIANO TUNING
425 562 4129  *  fax 425 562 4132
     jkanter@rollingball.com
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