Tuning forks (and ETD's)

[Brian Henselman]

Tom,

Thank you for the thoughtful reply.
-Brian Henselman, RPT

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Cole <tcole@cruzio.com>
To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Sunday, October 31, 1999 2:29 AM
Subject: Re: Tuning forks (and ETD's)


>Brian Henselman wrote:
>>
>>
>> It's not the machines that I object to.  My objection is to each
>> human's tendency to follow the path of least resistance.  Just because
>> something is easier, or more accurate, doesn't insure that it's still
>> better.  If this were true, then we will have have become nothing more
than
>> the servants to the machine, be it a spell checker, or an ETD.
>
>
>Brian,
>
>Re your point about getting an ETD "prematurely", before aural tuning
>skills are fully developed, I would tend to agree. None of the people
>I've known, who bought the machine early on, ever mastered an aural
>temperament and upgraded to RPT. Someone on this list may have or may
>know someone who has but I think this is much more the exception than
>the rule. So, I'm with you on this point.
>
>Some members of our chapter are struggling with tuning and I'm almost
>tempted to suggest visual tuning to get them up to speed more quickly. I
>stop myself short of doing them this "favor" if there is a chance that
>they have the ability to develop their ear.
>
>(from another post):
>> ...However, I cannot imagine that it is half as much FUN to tune a
>Model D in Bass Concert Hall with a SAT as it is to tune it aurally. <
>
>It's hard to argue the benefits of tuning with an ETD with someone who
>has not spent some time with one (but here I go anyway). You are
>obviously very serious about aural tuning and by all means, sir, keep at
>it and there's no need to be apologetic about it. I certainly don't
>regret my 25 years as a strictly aural tuner.
>
>Actually, I do enjoy tuning a model D visually. I enjoy the sounds of a
>Steinway concert grand while I'm tuning it and, of course, when I check
>out the tuning when I'm done. I don't stop listening just because I'm
>looking at a computer screen. You never forget how to ride a bicycle by
>ear <g>. I tune unisons as I go so I check them aurally. I listen for
>noises and voicing problems. Incidentally, I can pay better attention to
>stability when I have the visual display to keep track of the pitch.
>
>I do use aural checks occasionally and never just go on "auto pilot".
>I'm still there with my ears, only I'm now in a supervisory capacity.
>Just as famous artists have used apprentices to pull their prints,
>stretch canvasses or do underpaintings, I can delegate to the ETD some
>of the more mundane tasks and rightfully take credit for and enjoy the
>finished result. The enjoyment comes from having the confidence produced
>by the successful colaboration of my ears and RCT; the ears alone can be
>rather self-congratulatory.
>
>> Don't you ever miss just listening to the piano "blossom" as you tune it
aurally?
>Isn't part of the "tuning experience/adventure" lost in the translation?
>Does IT (tuning with an ETD) ever give you that "rush" of excitement or
>sense of personal pride and accomplishment?
>
>I remember vividly some experiences of having a temperament sequence (in
>a well-scaled instrument) "sing", of suddenly hearing partials I never
>heard before as my ear-brain apparatus did a quantum leap. Tuning was
>more exciting when I was learning things daily; it was more of an
>adventure when I had fewer skills and had to figure things out more.
>
>But as I matured into the profession, there were other aspects to master
>and tuning became progressively more instinctive and required less
>effort. Other things emerged as exciting.
>
>The advent of sophisticated ETDs set a new standard which caused me to
>rethink how I tune pianos. Judging from the feedback I've been getting
>from musicians I tune for, as well as my own ears, I am getting better
>results. And this has increased my sense of personal pride and
>accomplishment.
>
>
>I like your analogy about the spell checker. They can breed dependency
>and often leave errors that could only be caught by a _homonym_ checker.
>But I will use one in a word processor just because they're fun and save
>time and an occasional trip to the lexicon.
>
>The bottom line is that the tuner is responsible for the tuning, not the
>ETD.
>
>Tom
>--
>Thomas A. Cole, RPT
>Santa Cruz, CA
>mailto:tcole@cruzio.com
>