The Pitch Thing

[Farrell]

You might not like it if you really listened to it. One of the reasons I
always recommend to customers that we try to bring their
below-standard-pitch piano up to A440 is that it will sound a lot better,
especially in the bass. Try it on a few bass strings. Start out a half step
flat. Sounds - well, like it sounds. Raise it 50 cents. Hmmmmmm, that does
sound better. Raise it the last 50 cents. WOW, that really sounds brighter,
crisper, A LOT more growl - not so muddy.

It's kinda fun when raising the pitch of a piano a half step (I did two on
Friday), listening to the difference in tone quality in the bass while
pulling it up. Pretty dramatic (you get to cheat/overdramatize a little bit
because you are actually overpulling 15% or so for the pitch raise!). If the
owner is near, I'll call it to their attention: "Mrs. Dullstring, listen to
how this bass string sounds now.....duuuunnnngggg.....that is where the
piano's pitch was. Now I will raise to pitch to where we are going with the
whole piano (strike the note hard and pull that puppy up (sounds so cool)).
(Now hit it again) BOOONNNNGGGGGG........See how much better that sounds."
They say: "Oh, my, yes. What a difference. I don't know why that other
tooooner did not raise the pitch."

P.S. Keeping in mind here (and most other areas of life) that a BONG is
significantly more desirable than a dung.

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Airy" <stephen_airy@yahoo.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 04, 2001 7:25 AM
Subject: Re: The Pitch Thing


> OK, so maybe I'm weird, but....
>
>
> I wouldn't mind having my personal piano tuned to
> A-427 (quarter step flat), A-415(half step flat), or
> even A-390 (full step flat)  on some occasions, and
> I'm NOT talking about when it's in such bad condition
> that tuning it to 440 will split the plate.
>
>
> --- "Carol R. Beigel" <crbrpt@bellatlantic.net> wrote:
> > Why do people want their pianos tuned to anything
> > other than A440?  Why
> > would they want A-442 or higher?  What is the sound
> > that is trying to be
> > achieved here?  Is is not true that a streteched
> > tuning at A440 sounds just
> > as "whatever" as a very clean (non-stretched) tuning
> > at A442 or higher?
> >
> > Carol Beigel
> > Greenbelt, Maryland
> >
>
>
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