A piano that is regularly played is also, hopefully, regularly tuned. I remember tuning a piano that had come up from the LA area, a no-name, mousy-brown spinet that surprised me by how well it could be tuned. It _wanted_ to be in tune. It grinned at me with its plastic keytops. I asked for some history and the owner reported that it had been tuned every 6 months by a gentleman who lived in a small town east of Riverside (Yucaipa). ------- Sidebar: She said that her tuner had died shortly before she left that area. I asked for his name and she remembered that it was Mr. Stancliff, which is how I found out that my mentor, Harold Stancliff, had died. (sniff) ------- My theory: That pianos, complex devices which they are, take on a life of sorts when given certain skilled attentions from player and technician; the soundboard becomes accustomed to vibrating to the different pitches of the tuned strings. Tuning is easy and the action remains free. Conversely, a piano can be more difficult to tune when neglected; the board, vibrating to out of tune strings for so long, seems to fight the efforts of the tuner to set a "foreign" temperament. The action, especially when dampness is present, stiffens up. This is why I emphasize that frequent tuning in the early stages of a piano's life is so important. A well-tuned piano is more likely to be played and the soundboard is being "well-trained", too. In answer to Clyde's question, I think it is safe to say that a piano which is not played is also not receiving even the basic care which it requires to be in good playing condition - tuning, cleaning, inspecting for insect or mouse damage, noticing if the environment is too damp or too dry, et cetera. If it is not played, it tends to turn into a piece of furniture (e.g., plant stand) and therefore is not being treated as a musical instrument any more and is vulnerable to a host of sins. In a word: "Bad". Tom Clyde Hollinger wrote: > > Friends, > > Several times recently when I called clients about scheduling the > tuning, they responded that it's no longer being played. Then they say > something like, "I heard it's bad for the piano to not be played. Is > that true?" > > Well, I've heard that, too, but I really don't know if it's true, or why > it would be. Can someone answer the question? Thanks. > > Clyde Hollinger -- Thomas A. Cole, RPT Santa Cruz, CA mailto:tcole@cruzio.com
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