<HTML>David, John, = Ric, List, I learned to tune this way about a year ago.  It makes decent piano= s sound good, and good pianos sound great.  Can't say I do it on every = rental spinet I tune, but I have fewer and fewer of those to contend with; &= nbsp;it has been a career altering educational experience for myself and my = clients.   Pianos seem to expand, brighten, come to life.  One of my clients s= aid his piano sounded louder.  Many have said that their pianos have ne= ver sounded so good, or in tune.  Very rewarding stuff, great technique= .   Who originated this tuning method?  I may have missed something her= e somewhere...:-( Dave Stahl "I never met a perfect fifth I couldn't drink."  Jack Daniels In a message dated 6/1/04 9:33:12 PM Pacific Daylight Time, bigda@gte.ne= t writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-= LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"> on 6/1/04 5:29 AM, John Formsma at john@formsmapiano.com wrote: > David Andersen responded: >> I don't think its usefulness is questionable at all---I use it = every > time I >> tune, and following it has allowed me to become a really, reall= y good > piano >> tuner. > > ..snip... > >> That said, my temperament and most of the octaves I set turn ou= t to be > part >> of close-to-perfect 5ths and  12ths. > > David, I agree with you about Virgil's method. Whenever I tune (in = ET) > that way, I end up with nearly pure 5ths and very nearly to pure 12= ths. > All the octaves are pure sounding when used in any combination. Exactly. > > There is something about it that allows you to tap into the hidden = power > of that individual piano. I notice it EVERY time, whether it's a 9' > Steinway or Yamaha U1 - it is a different and better sounding piano= . EXACTLY. > > For me, it took a fair amount of listening and practicing to say, "= Yes, > I can now hear what is there." But it was certainly worth it. I guess i was led into it by my teacher, Jack Cofer, when I first learne= d how to tune almost 30 years ago. Worth it for me? Yes times a million. > > Have you noticed that false beats in the treble are greatly minimiz= ed > when tuning this way? Absolutely, and it can cause many, many other psychoacoustic illusions a= s well:  bigger bass, more sustain, warmer voice, crisper, more even = action regulation---I've heard all of these comments after just a real strong focused, natural beat aural tuning.  And the capper: "This sounds like a different piano; how'd you do that?" > Regards, > > John Formsma Hope this helps sincere tuners who want to really experience a consisten= tly beautiful and precise and consistent tuning-----and have FUN doing it. Best, David Andersen </BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>