Aural? (long, sorry)

[Kristinn Leifsson]

What a beautiful way of putting it Susan.
This aural vs. ETD debates sometimes lose touch with what really matters 
the most ; How do it sound!
It´s just the past meeting the present.
It doesn´t matter which we use, only that we do it properly and that the 
end result is something we´re proud of.

Kristinn




At 09:24 3.10.2000 -0700, you wrote:

>>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