My recollection is that the term was coined around the time, shortly after the "new" tuning exam was created in the late 70s and started its full implementation in the early 80s. Ben Mcklveen wrote a brief article about how he took the exam -- and didn't pass! He had tuned the treble notes "the way he (and his many concert venue customers) liked them" -- more stretched than the 2:1 octaves that the exam instructions explicitly demand. Nothing wrong with that in the "real world", but sometimes exams make artificial demands, and he hadn't complied with them. I think later in the article he comments that certain unnamed S&S concert technicians routinely stretched far more than he did, and some might them "Picasso tuners" -- going far beyond the standard book definitions of what a "good" tuning is supposed to be, while at the same time being a perfect tuning for the concert pianist. And, if the term is used respectfully, the term acknowledges the years of learning and basic craftsmanship the true artist develops before launching out out on their Abstract Period. Patrick Draine On Feb 14, 2005, at 6:20 AM, Conrad Hoffsommer wrote: > At 18:34 2/13/2005 -0700, you wrote: >> Conrad, >> I recall that term from an article in the Journal about.... uh.... >> 8-10 years ago. Seems like it was maybe..... Virgil Smith,...... I >> think. It was basically referring to an extra-wide treble stretch, I >> believe. I AM sure that I'm unsure..... howz 'dat? >> >> Later, >> Guy > > > I guess I'll have to search in my CDs, thanks.
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