Bringing them down

David Porritt dporritt@post.cis.smu.edu
Fri, 05 Jul 1996 06:34:25 -0500 (CDT)


On Wed, 3 Jul 1996, Mark Graham wrote:

> This time of year I encounter a lot of Steinways and other pianos which
> are very sharp. I can do pitch raises competently, but lowering the pitch
> of a severly sharp piano and putting it in good tune takes me longer than
> I would like. Any tips? Things seem to drift back up again, particularly
> in the treble and particularly in Steinways.
>
> Mark Graham, Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory
>

Mark:

Unless the pitch is _very_ high, leave it up.  Since my Winter goal is
440, having the piano go to 443 in the Summer is no big deal (Sopranos
might hate it but...).  Both of our "Ds" in our main recital hall are
about 442 right now, and that room has pretty good humidity control.

I've found that if I bring them down in the Summer and back up in the
Winter, they never feel stable.  If I let them go where they want to,
they behave pretty well.  Our double reed players like me in the
Summer, and the Sopranos are happier in the Winter!

dave
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David M. Porritt, RPT
Meadows School of the Arts
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, Texas
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