Cyber ears

[Newton Hunt]

OK, Richard, I begin to see the real reasons you are wanting such a
machine as you describe.

Forgive my delayed response to your personal posts.  Jim and others
what done an admirable job of answering your questions.

Aural tuners can evaluate a beat in, generally, less than a second,
especially thirds.  Waiting ten seconds or so will be an unacceptable
impediment to getting on with the job.  So, there are other means of
finding and correcting errors in tuning.

First there are contiguous intervals.  These are same type intervals
with a common note.  Example, C4, G3 and C4, F4 4ths.  C4, F3 and C4,
G4 5ths.  In evaluating the temperament area the 4ths should have the
same beat rate and the 5ths should have the same beat rate.  The
thirds are different.  C4, G#3 and C4, E4 thirds should have a 4:5
beat rate ratio.  C4, G3 will beat 4 times in the same time frame as
C4, E4 will beat five times.  You don't care what the beat per second
rate is, only that the ratio is 4:5.  You count 1234, 1234, 1234 the
12345, 12345, 12345 and your sense of timing will tell you that the
amount of time these intervals beat is the same or not.  

If two of the three tests show a need to change the C4 then there is
likely an error in the location of C4.  You can use this evaluation
method going up as far as you can hear the beats and as far down as
you can hear the beats.  

All contiguous major thirds will have this 4:5 beat rate ratio,
chromatically, within the audible range.

As Dr. Coleman pointed out the beat of F3 to A3 will vary from piano
to piano, and I have seen it as low as 5.5 bps, so knowing the beat
rate is not as useful as we all thought twenty to thirty years ago. 
What is important is to realize that the relative beat rates are what
is needed to be known.

When you learn to use these methods you will find that they are faster
and more informative than any machine counter would be.

Go try them and then let us know what you have observed.

		Newton