[pianotech] pitch and temperature

[Encore Pianos]

You talking to me or Chip, or both of us?  I think it is the same difference
either way, although I am probably more comfortable than poor hypothermiated
(is that a word?) Chip.  At least Chip can claim it was in tune until the
heat was turned on J.  I can't even do that.  

 

The piano is obeying the same laws of physics whether or not the piano is
being tuned or has been tuned, with the large temperature shifts that Chip
and I are encountering.  This instability occurs every time they turn the
heat on and off, which is at least once a week if they are good Christians.
Whether or not the tree is heard falling in the forest, it's still falling,
and the church is wasting it's money tuning the piano.

 

Tell me Chip, did the pianist get frostbitten fingers?

 

Will

 

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Gene Nelson
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2011 2:21 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] pitch and temperature

 

A possible alternate strategy might be to wait for one and a half hours
after the heat is turned on and use the last half hour to touch up unisons?

Gene

----- Original Message ----- 

From: chip tuthill <mailto:chiptuthill at yahoo.com>  

To: pianotech at ptg.org 

Sent: Monday, January 10, 2011 10:55 AM

Subject: Re: [pianotech] pitch and temperature

 

Same problem for me here in Colorado. No heat in the church or opera house.
Tuning in gloves , hat and heavy jacket. Then the owner turns on the heat.
>From 15 to 70 degrees forced hot air right on the piano. Tuning goes to
hell. I turn off the heat and leave a note for the piano player- good luck.
No heat for the tuning. Can only guess what did happen after I leave.
Concert was in two hours.

 

Chip

 


  _____  


From: Encore Pianos <encorepianos at metrocast.net>
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: Mon, January 10, 2011 10:33:08 AM
Subject: Re: [pianotech] pitch and temperature

It has to be the strings.  Case in point:  I tune a small Yamaha grand for a
church house in in an old New England Congregational style church.  Built in
the early 1800's, big rattly windows, and no insulation.  They stopped
heating the church between Sunday services a couple of years ago.  When I
would come to tune the piano in January or so, they would jack the
temperature up from 10 or 20 degrees to 70 an hour or so before I would
come.  The church air is 70 when I get there, but the piano is so cold that
frost is forming on the sides from the condensation (no joke!!)  I would
spend the whole wasted two hours and 3 passes before I gave up chasing the
pitch all over the place.  As the piano strings would warm up, the pitch
would change so rapidly that by the time I got to the ends of the piano, the
middle would be out again.  The rest of the piano is a thermal mass that
takes much longer to warm up than the strings - I would have to guess many
hours to achieve equilibrium with the air temperature and that of the
strings - I certainly would give up long before that time.

Will Truitt 



 

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