Jim Ellis's demo- was Re. Why does a string go out of tune?

David Skolnik davidskolnik@optonline.net
Sun, 11 Apr 2004 10:59:24 -0400


Jim -

Any concise (for your sake, not mine) way of describing method used to 
demonstrate?

David Skolnik




At 10:12 AM 4/11/2004 -0400, you wrote:
>Why does a string go out of tune?  There are many reasons.  It does NOT
>necessarily mean there is something wrong with your technique.  Some pianos
>just simply have better unison stability than others, and all the various
>reasons for this could fill a book.  I won't try to list them all here.
>
>For what it's worth:  Friction is very high between strings and bridge
>pins.  I have made measurements that indicate that it is necessary to
>change the pitch of the speaking length of a string by 50 to 100 cents
>before it will move at the bridge.  This means that no matter how hard you
>pound, you will NOT equalize the tension between speaking lengths and
>string tails.  You will break something before you can pound hard enough to
>do that.  What you WILL do is cause it to move if it is about ready to move
>anyway.  The side bearing angle of the strings at the bridge pins has a big
>effect on this.  I did demonstrations showing these effects at the
>conventions in Kansas City and Albuquerque, and several state conferences
>before that.  I'm sorry, but I can't give you a quick fix for the problem.
>What I can tell you is that beating the stuffings out of the piano won't
>eliminate the problem.
>
>Sincerely, Jim Ellis
>
>
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