John Henckel wrote:
>Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2001 10:23:20 -0500
>From: John Henckel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: Re: [abcusers] Fomula for determining a half step in MgHz...
>
> .....
>
>One time I watched a professional piano tuner and was surprised to see that
>he didn't use any electronic pitch measuring device. He only used ONE
>tuning fork for middle C, and he tuned all the other notes from there! I
>said, "why don't you just tune each note separately to its correct
>frequency" and he said that would sound awful. He said it is impossible to
>tune any piano perfectly, but it is always a compromise of many different
>factors. In other words, it is an art.
A discussion of the practical art of piano tuning is way beyond any
reasonable
amount of space most people on this list would tolerate. But there are
two
basic reasons piano tuners do not use electronic tuners: (1) On any
stringed
instrument, but especially the piano, octaves are "stretched" (wider than
an
exact frequency ratio of 2:1), due to the way the harmonic series is
produced
in a vibrating string. Electronic tuners do not, and can not take this
into
effect, since the amount of "stretch" varies with the thickness and
tension
of the strings. (2) Once properly informed on what to listen for, the
human ear is much more accurate than the electronic tuners.
This does *NOT* make tuning a piano an "art" in the sense everyone does it
whichever way feels right to them. There is a standard reference pitch
and
scale which should apply to any instrument. I call it a "practical art"
like
woodworking -- there is a great deal of science involved, but since you're
also dealing with imperfect materials, a fair amount of practical
experience
is necessary to achieve the scientifically correct result on an actual
piano.
Alan S. Watt
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
770-469-7544 (USA) [Voice/FAX]
http://www.mindspring.com/~alan.watt
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