John, I have experimented with very stretched tunings for about a year now. Reactions from pianists have been positive. Some love it. Others dont notice any difference. Three things started my experiment. The first was that the only suggestions from pianists about my tuning was that they occasionally said that certain notes in the mid treble sounded flat, even though these notes were already on the sharp side of all my tuning tests. No pianist has ever said that notes were too sharp. The second thing was attending the Steinway Technician Education Program in Tuning and Voicing. This was reinforced by, third, a number of articles in the Journal which I can probably dig up if that would help. The stretched tunings I have done consist of tuning a slightly wide two octave A to A temperament followed by continuing to notes 88 and 1 using perfect fifths. When we use equal temperament we are already compromising everything but the octaves. If we tune the double octaves pure, or even the triple octaves pure, our octaves can sound good to us, but to many listeners melodic lines will sound cramped, flat in the treble and sharp in the bass. Here another compromise might help. Do we want beautiful octaves and cramped arpeggios, or do we compromise the octaves? I feel that this stretched tuning works especially well in big halls, or in situations where the piano needs to carry or cut through a muffling environment. John Chapman RPT Wake Forest University Winston-Salem NC On Tue, 13 Feb 2001, John Baird wrote: > Alternate Subject Line: Outrageously stretched treble sounds great > > RE: The phenomenon where a normally, RPT-exam-passing, stretched treble > sounds flat, especially when playing a slow arpeggio up to the top > octave, but an extremely stretched treble sounds very good. The single > octaves, 10ths & 17ths don't pass an inspection by tuners, but the piano > does sound great when it is played. > > I believe this has been discussed before--does anyone remember when or > what the subject line was? > > How much of this outrageous, great-sounding, tuning is being done around > the country? I am currently being pressed in this direction, and for the > most part will go there willingly, but I would be interested in any > current and/or past discussion. > > Thanks, > > John Baird > Millikin University > Decatur, Illinois > >
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