<HTML style="FONT-SIZE: x-small; FONT-FAMILY: MS Sans Serif"><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2802" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV> <DIV><FONT size=4>Comment ... or maybe more of a question.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=4>In doing this, we are using the ETD as the final judge, the standard if you will. Yet for the RPT exam, the standard is set aurally.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=4>So, it seems to me, that when you are "off" by a few 10ths of a cent (or even more) you may actually be "on" to a better placement of that note than the machine has calculated.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=4>I'd be interested in others' comments, including those of you who are examiners. And -- related -- how far different can an ETD calculated tuning be from a good aurally done exam tuning in your experience.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV> <DIV> <DIV><FONT size=4>Alan Barnard</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=4>Salem, Missouri</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV></DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt Arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=a440@bresnan.net href="mailto:a440@bresnan.net">A440 Piano Service</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To: </B><A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">PTG List</A></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> 02/08/2006 7:22:53 PM </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Using an ETD to hone aural skills</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT size=2> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT><PRE><FONT face="Eras Medium ITC" size=4>Hi people,</FONT></PRE><PRE><FONT face="Eras Medium ITC" size=4>I'm trying to hone my aural tuning skills and I've come up with a method... </FONT></PRE><PRE><FONT face="Eras Medium ITC" size=4>I'd like to hear others' feedback on this particular method, </FONT><FONT face="Eras Medium ITC" size=4>and about any other kinds of methods you might recommend. Today I had a nice tuning in a quiet house. It was a Yamaha Grand, a C3 in good shape. So I took the opportunity to "keep score" on my aural tuning. I used Potter F-A II. What I did was: 1. Take F-A-C readings and let the SAT calculate a tuning. 2. Set the A4 with the machine. 3. Tune the temperament by ear from there. 4. Compare my note with the machine's calculation. 5. Write down how far off I was (in cents). 6. Re-tune with machine and go to the next note, lather, rinse and repeat. Here's my scorecard: A3: -.1 F3: -.2 F4: +.9 C#4: -.8 D4: dead on! A#3: -2.7, retried: -2.2. Found out D4 (where I was tuning the third from had drifted flat - gotta work on my stability!) F#3: -.5 D#4: dead on! B3: -2.8 (oops!) retry: dead on! G3: +.2 E4: -.4 C4: dead on! G#3: -.8 F#4: -.1 G4: dead on G#4: -.3 So howzzat? Not too bad, I'm thinking. My tendency looks to be that I tend to tune flat (slower beating), but I think I'll need a few more scorecards to make a statistical judgement. And I have to work on the stability thing, too, obviously. I get so caught up in the beat speeds that I lose track of that fundamental skill of setting the string and the pin. Are any of you doing practice things with your ETDs? How do you use them?</FONT></PRE></FONT></DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>