Out of tune(probably an argument, here)

[John Formsma]

Ed, list,

Interesting. Here's what I've observed about unisons. The adjectives are
completely subjective so it may be difficult to communicate through
writing.

There is a point at which a unison can be tuned perfectly still. I refer
to that as a "sterile" unison because, to my ears, it sounds sort of
lifeless. Perfectly in tune, just no real motion anywhere. Kind of
hanging there, but not going anywhere.

There is also a point at which a unison can have some "life." This is
just before a perfectly sterile unison. The effect is that the sound
seems to have a little movement, an "alive" sound, a little bloom,
whatever you want to call it. It's not out of tune at all - just has
life to it. I've also noticed there is slightly more volume at this
point.

Wonder if this is what the pianist is hearing?

Why does this happen? Beats me. Maybe cancelling of the higher partials
in the sterile unison? Frankly, I don't have the time to research it b/c
I'm busy trying to make a living. Maybe when I'm independently wealthy?
;-)

The best sound I can get is from an already in-tune piano with a second
tuning done with open unisons. I tune octaves for that exact spot where
the octave has the most volume (as Virgil Smith has taught). Tuning this
way seems to provide a little more "punch" than tuning all the middle
strings first, then pulling in the unisons. Each note has the maximum
volume, which all adds up to more powerful sound. False beats seem to be
less of an issue too, for some reason.

Any comments?

John Formsma

> -----Original Message-----
> From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org]On
> Behalf Of A440A@aol.com
> Sent: Friday, May 07, 2004 7:44 AM
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: Out of tune(probably an argument, here)
>    What am I to make of an artist, (on the Steinway roster)
> who tells me that
> the piano sounds good when I finish, but better after a day
> of playing?  I
> checked this piano and the unisons still stopped the lights
> on the SAT but I
> could hear that they were looser than when I left them.  This
> artist hears the
> change and likes it!   I still go for as clean a unison as
> possible, but that is
> just to insure the longevity of the tuning.