>>>>> "Frank" == Frank Nordberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Frank> A for keyboards - well, any decent piano tuner will tell
Frank> you that he or she does not use strict equal
Frank> temperament. You have to adjust the intonation slightly to
Frank> get a good result.
Frank> There are a number of factors a piano tuner have to take
Frank> into account, the overtones are never completely pure,
Frank> unison strings should be slightly detuned for a fuller
Frank> sound, bas strings has to be tuned slightly sharp... One
Frank> of the important factors is that he has to somehow
Frank> compensate for the shortcomings of the equal temperament
Frank> system.
The American piano tuners I know believe that they are trying to
approximate equal temperament, although certainly not by tuning each
string to the mathematical frequency calculated for that note.
This was apparently not true as recently as 100 years ago, so it could
be that Norwegian piano tuners are using a different theory from the
American ones.
As far as electronic piano tuners go, there are electronic tuners
which are designed for piano tuning, and which take into account the
"stretch factor" and allow you to select the harmonic you're tuning
for, and count the beats between the strings for you. There is a
snobbery common among piano tuners about being able to do a better job
than these sophisticated electronic instruments. This is undoubtedly
true in an ideal setting, but any tuner who claims to be able to tune
better than the box in a noisy restaurant while the dishes are being
washed is deluded.
--
Laura (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
http://www.laymusic.org : Putting live music back in the living room.
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