I thought the list maybe interested in the latest rounds of discusions in the U.K. The following article was taken from a Soundings the magazine of the Instutute of Musical Instrument and Technology. The article also appeared in the Association of Blind Piano Tuners newsletter. The Authors permission was granted for this article to be placed on the net. Regards, Barrie. Snip...... TUNING Contest FOR THE ACCUTUNER Les Sherlock In the last issue of Soundings was an article by Ralph Long about the Accutuner. Since it appeared in this country, it has received a mixed reception. Les Sherlock thinks it is time it was given a fair test, open for all professional tuners to he able to sec its capabilities; therefore he is organising a tuning competition which will be open to all Members of ABPT, PTA and IMIT to participate or observe. The Royal National College for the Blind, Hereford, is the best place for the test. It is known to all Associations and has the facilities. Ralph Long will use the Accutuner, and this will be judged against the aural tunings of the other contestants. We want a test of 'hearing, not lever technique. 'therefore it should not involve a pitch change, as this could affect the result. For instance, if someone using the Accutuner was not very good at stabilising the pitch, the tuning. the examiners bear would not be the one the Accutuner had calculated (that is not intended to be a slur against Ralph Long - I happen to know 'he is an excellent tuner). It is the machine that is being tested, not the tuner using it. Therefore, I propose that the pianos used should previously have been tuned to A 440 by first-year students. 'that way the overall string tension should be about right, but the tuning would not be perfect. It could be argued that competitors could use the work of the students, so it may not entirely be their own work. But this contest is comparing human judgement against a machine, and if competitors feel that the tuning on their piano is OK then that is their judgement (although I would be surprised if experienced professionals could not improve on the work of beginners). 'This method could not he used for college or PTA Membership tests of course, because lever technique needs to be examined in these cases, and even a beginner's scale could be a help to some candidates! Because a pitch raise is not involved, the tunings will not take as long. So I propose one and a half hours, which should be ample time for the tuners to give of their best. Great care should be taken to prevent everyone (including the competitors,) from knowing who tuned which piano. I have some ideas how this can be done. The aural tuners will be named, but apart from the organiser, no-one will ever know who did which tuning. Even they will only know which was their own piano. But of course, the Accutuner tuning will be revealed after the examinations are completed. There should be two examinations of the tunings. The first and most important in my view, is the accuracy of the tuning. The second is the musical quality of the tuning. They should be separated, because one is more objective and the other more subjective. The main examiners I propose (and they have agreed to undertake this) are Philip Kennedy and Eddie Wilkins. My reasons for this choice are: They are both very experienced at assessing tunings. They both are very familiar with the idiosyncrasies of the Hereford pianos, and are therefore best placed to be able to judge on the basis of the capabilities of the individual pianos. They are both fine pianists and are able to judge the musical qualities of the tunings from that point of view. They are both in good standing with ABPT and PTA. For the examinations, they should judge the tuning accuracy together, looking at pitch, scale, lower treble, upper treble, upper bass and lower bass. But not checking tuning stability. I am suggesting that each section carry a maximum of 100 marks, 70 equalling a typical exam pass mark, 85 being a concert tuning, and 100 where no improvement could be made on that piano, To give the correct emphasis on the importance of the scale and middle section, for the overall score the scale mark would be multiplied by 3 and the upper bass and lower treble multiplied by 2. 'These gives a maximum grand total of 1000. and makes it easy to calculate the percentage. Afterward, they should play a short piece on each piano to test the musicality of the tunings, and give a straightforward mark out of 100. When they have finished, the competitors as a group can make the same tests, using the same marking method as the examiners. Finally, anyone from ABPT, PTA or IMIT who wants to take part, can check the pianos and use the same marking system. After all the testing is over, the results will be announced, but it will be the official examiners' results that will be considered the authoritative ones. I suggest we need 3 tuners to compete against the Accutuner. So come on, those who oppose it, now is your chance to put your tuning lever where your mouth is! Please let me know if you are willing to have a go. If more than 3 come forward, the most appropriate 3 will be selected in consultation with the ABPT and PTA Councils. All being well, I hope to be able to announce final details in the next issue of Soundings and expect the event to take place during the first quarter of 1997. I have gone into some detail, so that if anyone feels that there is a better way of doing it, they can have the chance to speak now (or forever hold their peace), and the best possible format can be adopted. If' you are interested in taking part, contact: Les Sherlock FIMIIT MPTA, Tryfan, 88 Blandford Road North, Beacon Hill, POOLE, Dorset. BHI6 6AD. England TeL 01202 623275 Snip.....end this was a scaned document -- Barrie Heaton | Be Environmentally Friendly URL: http://www.airtime.co.uk/forte/piano.htm | To Your Neighbour The UK PIano Page | pgp key on request | HAVE YOUR PIANO TUNED
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