The best it can be

Wimblees@AOL.COM Wimblees@AOL.COM
Mon, 10 Sep 2001 12:39:25 EDT


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In a message dated 9/10/01 6:27:05 AM Central Daylight Time, 
cedel@supernet.com writes:


> Is a piano technician ethically bound to give each and every piano the very 
> best tuning he can?  

Yes, But, we have to take into account the quality of the piano. Kind of like 
the adage, "you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear." No matter how hard 
you try, you can't make a spinet tune up like a concert grand. 

What we as tuners have to learn is how much better a tuning can be, without 
spending too much time on it. When I tune a unison, I go above and below the 
pitch, and come up with the least offensive sound. If that least offensive 
sound still has beats in it, then that is all the piano can give. 

Example. A theater in St. Louis bought a cheap used grand for the pit. I 
tuned it the best I could. The bass was horrible, because of old strings and 
worn out hammers. I got a call after the first performance from the pianist 
who complained the bass was out of tune. I went there just before the next 
performance, when he was there, and explained the situation. Together we 
tried tuning the bass. He finally realized what I came up with was the best 
the piano could give. The next year I was asked to replace the pin block and 
strings, and a year later I replaced the hammers. The piano is still not 
sounding great, but it is a lot better than it was. 

So do the best you can with what you have to work with and learn how to 
"compromise."

Willem

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