Ken, Are there some oral temperaments published that we might add to our repertoire? Tom 4/1/99 -----Original Message----- From: Ken Jankura <kenrpt@mail.cvn.net> To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org> Date: Wednesday, March 31, 1999 9:46 PM Subject: Partial Hearing > >List, >I think I may have hit on something to help us all do our work better and >more efficiently. Recently I was tuning and having a little trouble hearing >the partials I wanted to hear. Though I use an Accu-tuner now, I learned to >tune aurally and I always check as I tune to try to improve on the machine. >Well, I was tuning the high treble and noticed that I could hear the 2nd >partial, the 2:1 octave, better when I opened my mouth. Try it, you'll >definitely notice a difference. If you open your mouth just a little it >seems like the second partial just gets isolated a little more than normal. >There must be something of a synergistic effect in using your eustachian >tube as a resonator chamber. So I then went the next step, and opened my >mouth as wide as I could and I noticed that the 6th partial just rang out >as clear as a bell. It was really simple to hear and tune the bass this >way, except that my jaw got tired. So what I've come up with is a series of >"Partial Props" that I carry in my toolcase, four of them, to help me hear >what I want to hear. They range in size from 3/4 inch to 2-1/4 inches, >pieces of dowel rod, turned from beautiful tropical hardwoods, with teeth >protecting rubber caps, for different ranges of the piano. Thank goodness I >don't have to use that 2-1/4 inch one very often, that's for an 8:4 octave, >but the 1-7/8 inch works great for a 6:3, the 1-5/32 inch for a 4:2, and >the 3/4 inch for the 2:1. Customers do look at me a little funny, but I >just take the prop out of my mouth and explain that it's for the good of >the piano. I was hoping to go into business manufacturing these, until I >realized that each person is going to have to find their own best >dimensions, their own 'sweet spot', if you will, to get the best effect. So >don't let your eustachian tube just sit there, make it work for you! My >tunings have never gone so smoothly or so quickly. >Ken Jankura > >
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