Setting pitch with a fork

[ilex cameron ross]

heh. my old mentor actually used to clamp the tuning fork in his teeth.
FRIGHTENING! i suppose it must resonate quite well inside one's skull that
way, but i wonder what kind of damage is being done to his teeth!
-ilex

----- Original Message -----
From: "Cy Shuster" <741662027@theshusters.org>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2004 11:02 AM
Subject: Setting pitch with a fork


List,

I'm practicing setting pitch with a tuning fork (for the RPT exam, someday),
and I'm finding it hard to hear the beats between F2 and the fork.  I'm also
struggling to hold the fork, play the note, and turn the pin.  What works
for you?
< . . . . .>
--Cy Shuster--
Bluefield, WV
    I tune verticals "left-handed," i.e., tuning hammer in left hand,
striking notes and octaves with my right, piano bench angled so I'm facing
the treble end.  I often stand to tune the bass, but don't necessarily have
to.  The following method probably won't work if you tune "right-handed,"
but maybe it's adaptable.
    I tap the fork on my knee, hold it up to my ear, then with the fork
still held with my right thumb and index (why set it down when I'm going to
immediately use it again?), play A 49 with my right 3rd & 4th fingers and
just get A in the right ballpark.  Then I quickly tune A3 to A4,
approximately beatless, but not bothering with any other checks than just
the two A's together.  Then I get F2 to beat fairly slowly with A4, in the
neighborhood of three to six beats a second -- that's just where I find it
easiest to compare beats.
    Now I can hit the fork on my knee, hold it up to my ear or put the base
of it against my cheekbone or jawbone up near the ear while I play F2 and
memorize the beat rate.  Then, still holding the fork with right thumb &
forefinger, play A with the 3rd & 4th fingers, and F2 with the left hand,
comparing the beat rate with the previous one.
    When the beat rates sound the same, I again hit the fork, move it
immediately to my ear and play A4, and let them both ring, listening for any
"slow roll."
    If F2 doesn't beat that loudly with the fork, try using B1.

    --David Nereson, RPT