hard blows -- was Tuning Devices for learning

[John Formsma]

Dean,

I agree that plugs are beneficial. Mine are "musician's plugs." Custom
molded to my ear.

> They also attenuate the loudness by about 10-15 dB. This lets you,
maybe
> even forces you, to hit the note harder which gives greater stability.
After
> tuning for 30 minutes without plugs I find myself subconsciously
hitting the
> notes softer because the loudness hurts my ears. Plugs let me keep on
> hitting them hard.

I agree that with a certain lever technique, hard test blows yield
greater stability. For me, though, I don't use hard test blows. I used
to, but then my ears would be literally aching at the end of the day.

What I've found is that a soft to moderate stroke about twice per second
eliminates the need for hard blows to stabilize. In other words, if I
play the note, then listen for two seconds while moving the pin around,
a hard blow is needed. But, it I play a soft stroke frequently (about
twice per second) while manipulating the pin, it's stable.

Also, I try to move the pin as little as possible. There is a point at
which one can just raise the pitch and then back down, leaving the
string perfectly stable. That point varies from piano, but for my
technique, it's usually around 1-3 bps sharp, then back down sets the
string well - with no pounding.

John Formsma