the A floats

[Don]

Hi,

Temperature wins out in the short term particularly the intense heat from
stage lights. This can be ameliorated to some extent by "pre heating" the
piano before it is tuned. It does require several hours for the piano to
reach "steady state". If all the performance lights are on to do this the
electricity costs far exceed the tuning costs.

Air conditioning in halls in temperate climates in the winter time is often
done using "outside" air. Humidity can drop 30% in 15 minutes. It behooves
the piano technician to find out "when" the air dampers will be opened and
finish tuning before that event occurs.

I fought unsuccessfully for many years to have humidity control on the
concert pianos I looked after. It cost the hall thousands of extra dollars
in tuning fees.

At 02:40 AM 30/08/2004 -0600, you wrote:
>> >From Bod Davis,
>> . . . . .   the piano dropped  four cents
>> in a full house and then rose four cents in the dark.   <<
>
>    You'd think that with all the people breathing, adding humidity and
>warmth to the air, allowing it to hold more moisture,  that the piano would
>go sharp, then go back flat when the theatre was dark.  But I suppose the
>warmth of the stage lights heating up the strings and making them go flat,
>especially if the lid's removed, is a stronger force than the temporary
>humidity during the concert from all the breathing humans.
>    If the air conditioning is on during the concert, its drying effect
>could, I suppose, counteract the humidity added by the crowd.  But is the
>duration of the concert a long enough time for a soundboard to gain or lose
>enough moisture to affect the tuning?  I understand the board loses moisture
>much slower than it gains it.
>    I've never seen a piano go sharp by much, if anything, on a rainy day.
>But several days of rain can affect it.  What's the main culprit in causing
>the tuning to drift in a concert situation -- the humidity or the
>temperature?    --David Nereson, RPT
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
>
>

Regards,
Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.P.T.

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