Standards

[A440A@aol.com]

hot damn, this oughta be good! 

Richard writes:
<< I'm curious about what the "standard" for concert tuning might be.  How 
do you tune a concert grand in equal temperament (9' Steinway, for 
example)?  What are your standards? 

     Standards are probably non-existant as far as what the tunings are.  
Unisons must meet a standard to satisfy me, but in terms of stretch, there 
are different widths that I use for different venues, and also for different 
uses.  
   In the recording studios, where the piano is often simply playing a rhythm 
guitar part, I compress the bass so that even though the fullness created (by 
alignment of low notes' partials with mid note fundamentals) might be 
lessened, the problems of ensemble tuning are avoided.  Those problems are 
usually from bass players that tune to Korg tuners and wonder why the fully 
stretched piano is flatter than they are. I know, I know, they should learn 
what is what, but I am there for the money, and when the studio rate is 
ticking, time is money and it is no place for inharmonicity lessons.  
    By the same token, if I know I am tuning for solo piano, I let the thing 
stretch itself to a greater degree, and if it is a gospel session, I usually 
have pure triple octaves by the time I get to C6.  They(the divinely inspired 
musicians) seem to like this.  Otherwise, stretching no farther than 
purifying the double octave from C5 on up works for the great majority.  
 
>>I know pianos vary, but what are 
you personally trying to achieve when you tune concert grands?<< 

   I personally want to hear the pianist say, "this sounds better than 
anything I have every heard"!  ( I would encourage all of us to shoot for 
that).  Sometime this means getting away from ET. 
 
 
>>1.  When you set the temperament, how wide is your temperament octave, 
4:2, or wider? 

    Once again, it depends.  If I am tuning for a Rach. concerto,  I know 
that I will want a lot of brilliance in the top end, so I begin with a wider 
temperament than otherwise.  If it is a Mozart chamber piece, I shrink that 
temperament octave to somewhere near a 4:2.  
 
>>If you choose wider, are you comfortable with the 
compromised (i.e. faster beating) 4ths, even if you get nicer, cleaner 
fifths? 

       If there is a slow roll in your single octaves in the 5th octave, 
there will be some near-pure fifths and the fourths will begin to approach 
their limit.  This is more evident on bright pianos, so how much tempering 
the fourths can stand is somewhat instrument dependant.  
 
>>3.  When checking octaves and double octaves, do you strive for equal 
beating 3rds, 10ths, 17ths, or do the 10ths beat faster than the 3rds, 
and the 17ths faster still?

    I was taught to always make the 10th faster than the 3rd, the 17th faster 
than the 10th. (B. Garlick).  I follow this in my tuning, making judgements 
of HOW much faster, depending on venue. 
Making an equal beating between the 10th and 3rd can produce a very clean 
sounding octave but the overall effect seems to be a dead sounding piano!  

>>4.  In the top octave do you tune clean 2:1 octaves, clean 4:1 double 
octaves, or do you stretch more than clean double octaves? 

    There is, once again, a lot of leeway up there.  It can all sound good, 
but some particular uses of the piano can profit from more or less stretch.  
A really well integrated tuning will begin the stretch in the temperament 
that creates the desired amount of sharpness in the top octave without ever 
seeming to damage anything inbetween.  Virgil Smith is a master of this.  It 
creates a very "open" sound to the piano.  However, I have also had customers 
that felt that the piano sounded "tense" rather than "open".  
  
>>If you stretch more than clean double octaves, how do you know how much 
more 
stretch you're introducing? 

  When the fourths in the 5th octave call attention to themselves, you may 
have gone too far, too fast. 
 
>>Are you comfortable with the fast beating single octaves?  

No. 
 
>>What test(s) do you use when stretching beyond the 
clean double octave, especially in the last 1/2 of the top octave?

Arpeggios, ears, tastes, and mood of the day.  
 
    Maybe the greater amounts of stretch are better suited for "exciting" 
music, and the smaller octaves promote the sonority found in more "mellow" 
music.  Cross reference that with the voicing of the particular piano 
involved and there really isn't a "standard" I can define. 
 
Ed Foote RPT 
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
 

Ed Foote RPT 
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html