Pitch (was) Betsy Ross pianos

[Billbrpt@AOL.COM]

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In a message dated 9/4/01 10:05:32 PM Central Daylight Time, 
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com (Farrell) writes:


> Please tell me that no techs around here "penalize" a piano owner for having
> a piano that is off pitch - whether it was last tuned last week or in 1962.
> Please tell me we simply charge for our labor and expertise.
> 
> Am I weird that this would grind me in a bad way?
> 
> Terry Farrell
> 
> P.S.  Sorry for using your post as an example Rozan - not trying to pick on
> 

In my opinion, Rozan did the right thing.  It is normal in this climate for 
the low tenor of many pianos to undergo as much as a 60 cent change of pitch, 
up and down on an annual basis.  There are circumstances where A-440 is an 
absolute requirement but most of the time, a technician would be fighting the 
unbeatable for to insist upon it at all times of year, especially if this 
means charging 150%-200% the going rate.

These seasonal pitch changes do not affect the whole piano uniformly.  The 
task, during one extreme part of the season or the other, is to find the 
*reasonable* pitch to tune to.  As an aural tuner, one strong suggestion I 
have is to take the pitch from A2.  Raise or lower your A3 to match it, do 
your first pass from that pitch, then your second from wherever A3 ends up. 
This, of course is on a piano that gets tuned frequently.  You can always 
afford to raise a flat piano in Summer and lower a sharp piano in Winter.

In the continental climate, where the humidity goes from very low to very 
high and back again every year, it is foolish to believe that all but a very 
few pianos can be tuned in a single pass, even with ETD pitch change 
calculations.  It has often been written on this List that in the US Midwest, 
*every* tuning is a pitch raise (or change).  The market won't quite support 
$150 tunings here.  Still, there are techniques for getting 2 complete passes 
done in 45 minutes or less and that's what I do routinely.

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin

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