This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment If the piano sees frequent tuning, what is the rationale for keeping it = at A430? Terry Farrell Hello List, Richard Snelson and Julia of Reading When is a tuning not a tuning? What constitutes a "tuning"? When is = A=3D440 more important than A=3D430 or A=3D445... or whatever. It is not = cheating, in my mind, to tune a piano "to its own pitch" if the client = hasn't the wherewithall to pay! One does one's best under all = circumstances and advises the client accordingly. Here in the UK we do = not have those almighty seasonal changes you people in the USofA have = to contend with, and the pianos seem to stay pretty well in tune - given = that quality and conditions always apply. All the pianos at the Opera = House I tune for are tuned once a week - it is a continuing problem that = the pitch might move over the course of time. But we concentrate on the = worst offenders and simply "touch up" the unisons etc. of the rest. It = must be understood here that there are only about three hours to go = round all twenty-five pianos. So rehearsal pianos are tuned in rotation = three days a week during the Season. One day is for the A=3D430 pianos = and another for the A=3D440. (For the A=3D415 operas the repetiteur is = obliged to play an A=3D440 piano down a semi-tone. Now that's quite a = challenge! Sight reading at the drop of a hat a semi-tone lower...!) The = third three-hour day is spent on the awkward pianos which can really = move in pitch due to the doors to the outside being left open etc. I = know one of them will start the season at A=3D440 but by the end it will = have risen to A=3D446+-. No one complains unless the unisons go out or a = piano goes dramatically out of tune. Pianos used with the orchestra or = for a stage rehearsal are tuned rigorously to A=3D440 on the day of the = rehearsal or performance. I have sometimes found the chorus using an = A=3D430 piano on a rehearsal stage - they just weren't aware it was not = at A=3D440! So... Unless you have perfect pitch (an awful complaint) = pitch does not seem to be of paramount importance ...... away from the = orchestra! Regards Michael G.(UK)----- Original Message -----=20 From: Richard Oliver Snelson=20 To: Pianotech=20 Sent: Friday, February 18, 2005 3:00 PM Subject: Re: One more tuning question... Julia,=20 I would ask you this question. Let's assume you end your tuning with = the piano on A=3D440. Tomorrow the weather changes a bit and the = humidity goes up. Where is you tuning at the end of the day or the third = day after you tuned? If you are aware of season changes and how they = will affect the piano it is only good practice in my opinion to "float" = the pitch in some cases. For example leave it slightly low if you know = it's going to go sharp in a few weeks. Over all the customer ends up = with a piano that's closer to A=3D440 for a longer time. I'm sure there = maybe a few customers, performers, even tuners, that can tell the piano = is not A=3D440, most can not without a fork, tone, ETD. I weekly find = fine artists playing with a 20 cent flat or sharp piano and not having = the least idea it sharp or flat. There is no reason you can't explain = what you are doing to the customer and why it will keep the piano closer = to 440.=20 The pianos that I tune on a two month basis I will end the tunings = at A=3D440 during the same season. Unless I'm tuning just before the = heat come on or summer and the air is about to start, then I will think = of allowing a small amount of pitch "Float". Rich ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Alpha88x@aol.com=20 To: pianotech@ptg.org=20 Sent: Friday, February 18, 2005 8:36 AM Subject: One more tuning question... Greetings,=20 Is one way of doing business for some tuners to just = tune the piano "where it is"? In other words, they check the A and if = its close enough (or even if its not close to 440 ) just tune the piano = so that it is in tune with itself??? And even going further, If they have a regular client, = such as a church, to do the above mentioned thing, cleaning up unisons = (so as to do a "bang-up" tuning) and then, on every 4th tuning or so = pull it back up to A440 or alittle above, so they are set up to repeat = the whole process, thereby saving themselves some time on intermittent = tunings, yet leaving the customer believing that they are receiving an = A440 tuning each and every time...when they aren't receiving a true = tuning (as far as proper pitch goes) each and every time?? Not that I would do such a thing in my practice. I do = not condone it either. I think it is dishonest. My question is do some = tooners do this?? is it possible?=20 =20 Julia=20 Reading, PA ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/56/e0/4e/f5/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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