Aural Pitch Raise

[Dave Nereson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Matthew Todd" <toddpianoworks@yahoo.com>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2004 10:40 AM
Subject: Aural Pitch Raise


> How does one go about doing a pitch raise without the use of an ETD?  Is
> it a whole lot more difficult to do?  How do you do it?

    In my opinion, it's a lot easier and faster to do.
But you do have to be able to hear when fourths and fifths are wider or 
narrower than beatless.
I never use the ETD for pitch raising -- too much fuss.
    I just set my A4 to 25 - 50 % higher than the amount the piano is flat
(a separate discussion about which I had a post a few weeks ago), then set a
quick temperament using 4ths and 5ths only, then quickly tune octaves up to
the top, just listening for pure or slightly stretched octaves (depending
how flat the treble is), then bring in all the unisons (order unimportant in
my opinion if it's a big pitch raise -- it's going to drift out some,
anyhow), then the bass -- octaves quickly down to the bottom, just listening
for beatless octaves, not bothering with more sophisticated checks, then the
unisons.  Takes 15 - 20 minutes.  Then I start over and fine tune, usually
with the ETD but I don't have to have it, and sometimes I leave it behind on
purpose, just to keep in practice tuning by ear.
    --David Nereson, RPT