If pianos are "swollen" now... then what?

[Farrell]

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Hello Julia,

Be careful with your "Subject" titles. Your post got filtered into the =
spam file on my machine. "Swollen?"  ;-)

Yes indeed, you are proceeding correctly. This is called "floating the =
pitch". As long as you are not tuning for a concert or some other =
situation where exact A440 pitch is critical, I also always float the =
pitch. I will (almost) always bring a piano up to A440 if it is below, =
but if it is above A440, I tune it where it is and sleep well knowing =
that it will eventually drop in pitch. The only time I stray from that =
course might be on an old piano where I am concerned about string =
integrity - maybe the middle of the piano is at A442 (or higher) and the =
high treble is flat - if I am concerned about the treble wires breaking =
(and maybe it is a piano that was designed for A435), I might tune the =
beast to A440 (or A435). Also, in air-conditioned Florida homes, we =
don't have the range of seasonal RH swings that you would experience =
where you are, so I have the luxury of pretty much always floating the =
pitch. I guess if you are tuning a piano in a non-air-conditioned church =
in February, the RH is 10%, the pre-tuned pitch is A438, and they only =
tune once per year, it is likely the best course to leave it at A438, =
knowing that in July it will be well above A440.

Make sense?
=20
=20


  Greetings,=20

                If the pianos are "swollen" just now (summertime), due =
to the humid mountanous atmosphere of this part of Pennsylvania, is it =
OK to tune above A440?

                 I have been tuning for alittle over a year now. I have =
found that pianos which the customer tells me havent been tuned for 5 or =
more years, are very close to A440, yet they are terribly out of tune as =
far as unisons and horribly flat upper ocataves.

                  In other words, I will get a call to have a piano =
tuned and am told its been 5 plus yaears since last tuning, yet the A =
below middle C is right on or near 440. Other pianos I go to, the =
customer will say it's been 2 years and these are actually a few beats =
above A440.=20

                  I never turn them back to A440, I figure they are =
swelled right now, and if I turn them down to 440 now, then, when the =
summer is over they will go below 440 when the heat goes on. Last =
summer, I had my first few tunings and I turned pianos back down to 440 =
and I was wondering if my fork was off...This year I figured it out. I =
think I am correct, but I want to be sure on this.=20

                  This year, (with my whole whopping 16 months =
expertise)  If I go into a situation and its a few beats above 440 I =
tune it right there. In fact,  if the customer doesnt have a dehumidifer =
or ar conditioning, I even pull the piano up a bit to be alittle above =
A440. Pianos "should" be sharp just now, right? How am I on this? Am I =
figuring OK on this?

  Thanks=20
  Julia Gottchall,
  Reading, PA    =20








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