Bassplaying and tuning

[Mmeade1pno@AOL.COM]

        Wonderful comments, and fairly good with the translation.

         Being a performing cellist as well as an RPT, I should provide some 
help here. 
Cellists do not usually tune in pure fifths, we are taught to tune the 
A - D fifth pure, due to common use of sharp keys in strting literature. But 
the other fifths are tuned tempered, leaving the C supposedly in tune to ET. 
HT will make the C sharper than ET, but would make us very unpopular with the 
winds. 

         Experience shows that bass players have a great deal of trouble 
tuning their E strings. Harmonics will leave the E string sharp to ET, due to 
widened sharps. since the amount of tempering is subjective in both cellists 
and bassists, and it affects both lowest strings the most, getting the cello 
C string in tune to the Bass E is a monumental task! It is hard enough to get 
the celli to agree on the C, and it sounds clearer than the bass E. Try 
getting the bass E in tune to the violin E would be an even greater trick! 
SInce the violins all tune their E pure to the A, the basses should tune 
their E pure to their A by harmonics. The cello A (open strings) should be 
checked with the basses A and E for purity. The cellos need to temper down to 
the C perhaps more than ET so that the C to E sounds like a good tempered 
third, not too wide!. This would take a while and would definately bruise 
some egos in the orchestra, but if it could be done, the orchestra WILL sound 
better in tune!

       Suggest this order of tuning:

            1) Basses to oboe, A to E
            2) Basses check to each other, E strings on harmonic
            3) Violins tune their A and E to the oboe. 
            4) Basses check harmonic E to violin E( repeat 1-4 if needed)
            5) Violas and celli tune all strings down to C
            6) Violas and celli check their C strings
            7) Violas and celli play C together, while Violins and Basses (on 
Harmonics) play their E strings. Result should be an acceptable ET wide third 
(in octaves). 
            8) Entire orchestra tunes D strings
            9) Entire orchestra tunes G strings.

        This seems like it would take forever, but within a week I bet the 
orchestra will never give it up, and it will be just as fast and much more 
effective than the old way.


                            Michael Meade, RPT