Aural? (long, sorry)

[Susan Kline]

>Ron Nossaman wrote:
>
> > >I think that "certain something" is a very quaint idea encouraged by folks
> > >who tune with a tuning fork.
> > >
> > >David I.
> >
> > I think that quaint "certain something" is the difference between all the
> > colors of a sunset, and just getting dark. It ain't tool specific.
> >
> > Ron N

As one of those who carry a fork, I thank you, too, Ron. We each
have to judge which parts of tuning will be the most important.
An ETD gives quickness in certain situations such as pitch raises,
and reproducibility. IMHO, this would be the most important if
one tuned too many pianos a day, and in noisy situations. It
would also be handy when tuning multiple instruments to each
other, if one couldn't move them so as to reach both keyboards
at once.

The total _exactitude_ of an ETD, even for setting the first
pitch, isn't something I find particularly compelling. It is
far more exact than the ear of a music listener, but not in
very musical ways. Very seldom does a piano have to be EXACTLY
on A440, to a degree that a fork (which isn't _totally_ accurate
in different temperatures) cannot achieve. If the fork is cold,
I warm it a little till it seems at room temperature, more or
less. It never has run out of power or needed plugging in. It
doesn't weigh much, either, nor does it need upgrades or repairs.

For me, the desired features of a tuning run more along the
lines of, "when played by a superb pianist, does it make you
sigh with delight, as all the knots of the day unwind?" "Do
the unisons all 'bloom' and remind you of pearls, and all in the
same way?" "Does the stretch bring forth visions of total
'rightness' and a kind of celestial architecture?" "Would
the interval sizes please a very good string player?" <grin>
"Has anything which could distract or annoy either pianist
or audience been removed to the greatest extent possible?"
"Will it stand up to a whole program of Liszt played by
someone who works out in the gym each morning without making
me want to crawl under my seat?" These can be achieved using
either a fork or an ETD. I just feel it's easier and pleasanter
to do it "by hand."

I know, sometimes we just have to slog through a lot of less
than wonderful work, and go home with checks to deposit. But
I feel, for myself only, that aural tuning brings me closer
to the "ideal" tuning experience more of the time than an
ETD would. "Ears only" also gets less tiring and challenging with
daily practice. As for working on pianos which cannot ever
achieve any of the criteria above, they have their own rewards,
more on the human plane. Help people who don't have much money to
keep music in their lives, give children something to learn
on that won't hold them back, keep pretty but tired remnants of the
past in working order, so they don't go to the dump, etc.

Susan