[CAUT] Steinway stretch (was Re: Steinway Verticals)

[Fred Sturm]

--On Monday, November 22, 2004 8:54 PM -0800 Boaz Kirschenbaum 
<artisanpiano@gmail.com> wrote:

> Don,
>
> That's correct, a 6:3 octave for all octaves. However, on pianos other
> than the Steinway vertical, I stretch the octaves.
>
> At Steinway, tuning by fifths was the M.O.
>
> This means, tune as pure a fifth as possible while still keeping it a
> tempered fifth, and leave the fourths slightly "dirty" (since the
> fifth is closer to pure than the accepted 3 beats every five seconds,
> the fourths will beat faster than 1 beat per second).
>
>  This technique also gives you the clean third octave stretch, if you
> use the fifth as the test interval alone, rather than using the M3
> M10, M10 M17, and m3 M6 tests. It saves time and also helps when
> you're following another Steinway tuner, you listen to their fifths
> and octaves, and don't try to narrow their octaves (in order to keep
> some semblance of stability).
> Boaz
	
Hi Boaz,
	This is very much in keeping with what I have heard from many Steinway 
connected tuners over many years. I'd "codify" it by saying the idea is to
1) Stretch octaves more than is taught by most PTG connected folks
2) Pay lots less attention to progression of intervals than those same PTG 
connected folks
3) Pay lots more attention to unisons and stability.

	I have noticed that Steinway connected tuners (and several other high 
level techs) who are not PTG members tend to dismiss PTG based in large 
part on the PTG tuning test, which, according to them (Steinway folks) is 
far too worried about said interval progressions, far too conservative in 
octave stretch, and far too lax in unisons and stability. The other side of 
that coin being PTG folks who run down Steinway tuners for being too sloppy 
in the area of the sacred Equal Temperament, and too crazy wide in the 
octaves.
	Inneresting, ain't it? Makes you wonder. (Me, I'm with the Steinway folks).
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico