standards

[Fred Sturm]

Richard and list,
	I'm happy to share what I do, though I have no idea how it fits with what 
anyone else across the country is doing.
1) Temperament wider than 4:2, 5ths slower than "standard", 4ths faster.
2) Mid range wider than 4:2 octaves.
3) 3rds slowest, 10ths faster, 17ths fastest.
4) I look for beatless 16:1 quadruple octaves. This is not all that much 
wider than 8:1 triple octaves, which used to be my goal. This only works on 
concert grands. But on a concert grand, beatless quads can be tuned 
throughout - A0 to C8 (When I was doing triples, I noticed that essentially 
I already had quads up to C6). I am quite happy with the beating of single 
and double octaves that results. THis does not sound extreme to the ear, at 
least to mine. I use an ETD to check, so I don't know how I would produce 
these results aurally - don't know as I could. C8 is around +60 cents.
5) 17th beat rates in the lowest octave are in the 1 to 2 per second range.

Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico

--On Monday, May 5, 2003 8:42 AM -0500 Richard West <rwest1@unl.edu> wrote:

> Hello, All,
>
> I'm curious about what the "standard" for concert tuning might be.  How
> do you tune a concert grand in equal temperament (9' Steinway, for
> example)?  What are your standards?  I know pianos vary, but what are you
> personally trying to achieve when you tune concert grands?  I'm trying to
> get a handle on what's really being done out there in the real world,
> apart from PTG's tuning exam.
>
> Questions:
>
> 1.  When you set the temperament, how wide is your temperament octave,
> 4:2, or wider?  If you choose wider, are you comfortable with the
> compromised (i.e. faster beating) 4ths, even if you get nicer, cleaner
> fifths?   2.  How wide are your midrange octaves?  4:2 or wider?
> 3.  When checking octaves and double octaves, do you strive for equal
> beating 3rds, 10ths, 17ths, or do the 10ths beat faster than the 3rds,
> and the 17ths faster still?
>
> 4.  In the top octave do you tune clean 2:1 octaves, clean 4:1 double
> octaves, or do you stretch more than clean double octaves?  If you
> stretch more than clean double octaves, how do you know how much more
> stretch you're introducing? Are you comfortable with the fast beating
> single octaves?  What test(s) do you use when stretching beyond the clean
> double octave, especially in the last 1/2 of the top octave?
>
> 5.  In the octave between C1 and C2, what should the beat rates for 17ths
> be?
>
> Thanks for your input on this.
>
> Richard West, University of Nebraska
>
>
>
>
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