[pianotech] Aurally pure octaves

[Richard Brekne]

Hi David...


    "---a different part of my  consciousness is matching partials than
    listening to the blend of  partials that is the "whole-tone." I can
    do both, but it seems more  thorough and "feels better" to me to
    listen to everything that's  happening when I play two notes; I like
    I can serve the tuning, and  the piano, better."

This is a nice descriptive...  and it echos more or less how I go about 
things with my Tune lab approach. I've been on about the inherent 
weakness of a single partial ETDs since first beginning to use them and 
have tried to find a way around that since the get go.  Since most 
tuners listen one way or another to one or two sets of coincidents using 
any number of aural tests to get them there, it seemed to me that 
emulating that first stage with an ETD and then tweaking with what fits 
in a more holistic sense was the way to go.  I tune default straight off 
to 3:1 12ths in the treble for example. A lot of older tuners have been 
doing this for years without necessarily thinking directly about the 
12th per sè.  Old journals are full of discussions about using the 17th, 
10th, M3rd and 6th tests and if you read between the lines you can see 
they are setting octaves stretch so that 12ths end up either pure or 
just barely a slow roll.  But most go on to say that when all tests are 
done, they listen to the whole affect of a series of intervals.  You 
hear things like playing major triads chromatically upwards and 
listening for a very similar aural picture for each triad. The beat 
rates increase... but the relationships of all three tones together 
aurally... holistically stay the same.  Others add to this triad an 
octave a couple octaves below... some use triads in certain inversions.  
I like the second inversion with an octave two octaves and a third below 
the triad myself.   Point is, you use  your partial matching to get you 
close, then listen to the sound the instrument is making. If your tuning 
is uneven.. then color variations in triads will  be obvious.  There are 
lots of ways of doing this.. lots of different tests.  I'm not sure I'd 
take in use any terms like "natural beats", "beatless octaves" "aurally 
pure octaves" or any of the other terms tossed around. But there is a 
color to piano sound I'm after... similar to what UET folks like to talk 
about when they get into key color.

Cheers
RicB