[CAUT] The fundamental - Where is it?

[Ed Foote]

>>We agree that, at least on larger pianos, the low strings produce the fundamental but we differ on whether or not the rest of the belly system can produce even a recordable fundamental.<<


        Greetings, 
       This can't be done aurally, since experiments show that  humans "hear" the fundamental even when it is missing, if the partials indicate to us where that fundamental would be, ie, if we hear 200, 300,400,500 cycles, all put together, we also "hear" the fundamental at 100. Our brains will synthesize the missing fundamental.  I don't think we normally will do the same going the other way, ie, if we hear 100 and 200 Hz  together, I am not aware of any research that indicates we hear additional higher ones.  
   Maybe this is why we can often hear, ("sense" might be a better word), the A0 on a smaller piano, when it is doubtful that the tubby spinet is capable of producing it. While aurally tuning these 36 inch wonders, (how many of us have been kept alive cranking through these?)  I would tune the lowest strings simply by where there was the least clang in the partials.  I may have been hearing the fundmentals, but putting them somewhere based on where the 2nd partials lined up with octave above  left them all over the place. 
Probably good not to hear them, sometimes. 
Regards,   

 
Ed Foote RPT
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
 

 
 
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