In need of some encouragement - another possibility

[Leslie Bartlett]

Tuning more softly is also a good thing. It isn't the percussive first sound
we're interested in, but the later shown overtones..........    Hearing
protection is also helpful, as the percussion can, I think, make it take
longer for the ear to pick up the requisite overtones.

As to unisons, Jim Geiger my teacher used to say the secret to concert
tuning was "UNISONS, UNISONS, UNISONS'.   I've proven that, and the tech for
Houston Symphony is adamant that such is the key to good tuning.   If one
can get them stable, then other things will be stable. Unison deviation is
easiest to hear. So there is where stability is most easily learned, and
hearing refined.
JMO
les bartlett

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Israel Stein
Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2006 12:12 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: In need of some encouragement - another possibility

At 10:47 AM 9/8/2006, "David B. Stang" <stangdave at columbus.rr.com> wrote:

>Friends,
>I'm feeling a little bit discouraged for two reasons.
>
>First, I am really struggling with my aural temperament tuning. I 
>understand intellectually how it is supposed to fit together, how all 
>the intervals ought to beat, and so on. But I have been practicing at 
>home and at customers' homes for a few months now, and I still just 
>can't do it right. By "do it right" I mean get it close enough to pass 
>the RPT exam (I use my ETD to test myself). My main problem, I think, 
>is, I just can't always hear the beats. For instance, I can nearly 
>always hear the F3-A3 Major 3rd, and the
>F3-D4 6th. But I struggle to hear the A3-C#4 and especially struggle to 
>hear the C#4-F4. I can't percieve those faster beats. And sometimes I 
>can't hear the beating even when it's supposed to be slow. Sometimes 
>the 5ths and 4ths are loud and clear; other times they are not there at 
>all. Are my ears the problem? Is it my brain?

David,

One possibility that I have not yet seen mentioned is ear fatigue. 
Your account of sometimes being able to hear the beats and at other times
not suggests this possibility. Ear fatigue affects novice tuners much sooner
than experienced ones - endurance is built up over time.

When listening intently to fairly loud sounds, your ear tends to shut down
after a while and refuses to process any more information. It's a protective
reaction. This is why when we were taught tuning at the North Bennet Street
School, we started with fairly short practice sessions - about 10-15 minutes
- and gradually lengthened them to hours in the tuning booths. Apparently,
as we gradually subject our ears to ever lengthening periods of the "abuse"
of listening intently to test blows, they build up endurance and stop
"shutting down".

Another feature of our training was extensive practice tuning unisons and
octaves for a long time, before attempting temperaments. This developed both
our sensitivity to beats and our "aural endurance" so that by the time we
were working on temperaments, we could actually maintain our acute hearing
ability long enough to tune a rudimentary temperament. It takes beginners a
long time to tune a temperament - speed comes with practice. If your ear
"shuts down" before you can complete your temperament - you suddenly stop
hearing those fifths and fourths beats that were so clear before... I
suspect that many self-taught beginner tuners can avoid a lot of frustration
with temperament tuning if they have the patience to do sufficient unison
and octave practice before attempting temperaments. And with ETDs supplying
an adequate temperament on which to base octaves, this should be fairly
easy.

Anyway, next time you find yourself not hearing beats that you have been
able to hear before (like those of fourths or fifths) give your ears a
break. Do a repair, make up an invoice or a tuning report for your customer
(always a good way to project a more professional image and build business).
Or simply take a break - it's time well spent.

Israel Stein




>Second, I am discouraged with my business. I could use some more 
>customers. I have gotten every kind of marketing advice imaginable - 
>that's not what I need. I am unhappy because I am kind of shy, and I 
>just don't do some of those assertive things that many business people 
>do. It doesn't come naturally for me to sell myself. (Like my friend 
>Jon Ralinovsky who was just e-ridiculed on this list, for simply 
>posting the link to the Cincinnati Seminar without tooting his own horn 
>about the good stuff he has lined up!) Maybe I don't have the right 
>personality to run my own business.




--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.12.2/442 - Release Date: 09/08/2006
 

-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.12.2/442 - Release Date: 09/08/2006