<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">Michele,<DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I like tuning left-handed on uprights (and right-handed on grands based on the same reasoning) because of the nature of the feedback I get when the pin is being pushed up as I'm raising the note or pulled down as I'm lowering the note. It seems like a mixed signal when for example in a grand, tuning left-handed, you find yourself pushing the pin away (bending the pin - and thus the string - flat a bit) while the pin is simultaneously raising the pitch by turning in the block. Does this bother anyone else, I wonder? This wouldn't be an issue if we were all putting the tuning hammer at exactly 12:00 on every pin, but I doubt that anyone does - I tend to be off axis a bit one side or the other, depending on whether it's a grand or upright.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I was forced to tune left-handed on all pianos for a few months when I had a right shoulder injury, and it never seemed quite as easy on grands as tuning right-handed.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I tend to tune the bass on uprights with my right hand (the body position seems more comfortable) and then from the bass break up sit in the other direction and tune with the left-hand (which seems especially easier to me in the high treble, if I want to stay seated, or with a piano that might be against a wall).</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>But everyone discovers out what works best for them, I suppose. </DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Best regards,</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Allen Wright, RPT</DIV><DIV>London, UK</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><DIV><DIV>On Nov 30, 2007, at 1:40 AM, <A href="mailto:pianotech-request@ptg.org">pianotech-request@ptg.org</A> wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><P class="MsoNormal"><FONT size="2" face="Arial"><SPAN style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; ">I have a question I’ve been wondering about for some time and I’m going to try to explain it correctly.</SPAN><O:P style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; "></O:P></SPAN></FONT></P><P class="MsoNormal"><FONT size="2" face="Arial"><SPAN style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; "><O:P style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; "> </SPAN></O:P></SPAN></FONT></P><P class="MsoNormal"><FONT size="2" face="Arial"><SPAN style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; ">I tune uprights left handed. A while back, I had some nerve damage to my hand doing an especially tough pitch raise and started doing pitch raises right handed and fine tunings with my left. I discovered that pitch raises are easier to do right-handed (for me). It’s easier to pull than to push and it seems that I land closer to the pitch. It always seemed like I had to go too far sharp to land the pitch correctly when I was doing pitch raises left handed. </SPAN><O:P style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; "></O:P></SPAN></FONT></P><P class="MsoNormal"><FONT size="2" face="Arial"><SPAN style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; "><O:P style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; "> </SPAN></O:P></SPAN></FONT></P><P class="MsoNormal"><FONT size="2" face="Arial"><SPAN style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; ">Just wondering if any other lefties have had similar experiences. </SPAN><O:P style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; "></O:P></SPAN></FONT></P><P class="MsoNormal"><FONT size="2" face="Arial"><SPAN style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; "><O:P style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; "> </SPAN></O:P></SPAN></FONT></P><P class="MsoAutoSig"><FONT size="3" color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><SPAN style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:" comic="" sans="" ms";color:black;="" font-size:="" 16px;=""><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: 16px; ">Michelle Smith</SPAN><O:P style="font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: 16px; "></O:P></SPAN></FONT></P><P class="MsoAutoSig"><FONT size="3" color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><SPAN style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:" comic="" sans="" ms";color:black;="" font-size:="" 16px;=""><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: 16px; ">Smith Piano Service</SPAN><O:P style="font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: 16px; "></O:P></SPAN></FONT></P><P class="MsoNormal"><ST1:PLACE w:st="on"><ST1:CITY w:st="on"><FONT size="3" color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><SPAN style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family: " comic="" sans="" ms";color:black;="" font-size:="" 16px;=""><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: 16px; ">Bastrop</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></ST1:CITY><FONT color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><SPAN style="font-family:" comic="" sans="" ms";="" color:black;="" font-size:="" 16px;=""><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: 16px; ">, </SPAN><ST1:STATE w:st="on"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: 16px; ">Texas</SPAN></ST1:STATE></SPAN></FONT></ST1:PLACE></P></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV></SPAN><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN> </DIV><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>