At 12:10 AM 07/28/2000 -0500, Dan Reed wrote: > Using a 1/8 th.inch diameter brass dowell, with a modestly tapered end, >with a rounded (smooth) grove cut into it, I 'rub' the wire like I am trying >to polish it. Five of six strokes will lower the pitch. In the middle of the >piano, a unison which is one or two beats high, can be coaxed down with this >technique, usually in one (six stroke) pass. > >The odd thing is, that the pitch comes right back up. Just strike the note, >and hear it start to go sharp again. After four or five hard blows, it is >back to (about) where it started before massaging. (I am an aural tuner, and >I check the individual wires with thirds or sixths. It is the massaged wire >that is comming back up, and not the other wire going south.) > >Just when I thought I had found a nice accurate controlable method to subtly >change the pitch to clean up a unison! Hi, Dan String players have a similar technique while tuning. If a note is a little bit flat, they press on the string up in the pegbox, bringing a little slack across the nut, and raising the pitch. However, once again, it doesn't hold, and my cello teacher warned us against it. I think that _most_ of the effect you noticed from rubbing the string was from pulling slack through the capo, rather than from straightening the wire. If the change is minimal, it might hold for awhile, but I wouldn't trust it if a big strong pianist started having fun with tone. The greater the change in pitch, the more easily it will slide back through, of course. The important thing is that you're out there thinking and trying things, and you aren't afraid to see and admit adverse results. Carry on! Susan
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