Piano out of tune on recording

[Billbrpt@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 2/23/00 5:24:24 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
hoffsoco@martin.luther.edu writes:

<< >people still loved and enjoyed the recordings.
 
 Yes! Guilty as charged. >>

It was always a recording I liked too but I never had a copy.  I had heard it 
at friend's houses or on the radio.  The Jazz station in Los Angeles used to 
play certain tracks and probably still does.  Amazon.com was advertising a 
newly remastered version of the classic Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto album for 
Valentine's Day.  Since I have had something new going for a couple of 
months, I read about it and decided to get one for myself and have one sent 
to the apple of my eye.  The reviews said that it was very popular now on a 
few college campuses.

I am, in fact, delighted with the Getz/Gilberto recording.  It has the great 
songs from 1961, "The Girl From Ipanema", "Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet 
Stars)" and ironically, "Desafinado" (which means literally, "out of tune" 
[but it isn't]).  It is the most soothing, relaxing music you have ever 
heard.  It is great for dinner music or a romantic evening but also just to 
relax and wind down to after a busy day.  The piano on the recording is 
played softly and is well tuned.  I highly recommend this recording to 
everyone.

The Brubeck recording was noted as one of the choices that people who ordered 
the Getz/Gilberto often made.  Knowing of that old recording, I wanted a new 
CD version of it.  I will still enjoy and keep it but I'm afraid I won't play 
it very much and especially will not play it when I want to listen 
attentively.  I have had this same experience with some other Jazz recordings 
that I used to enjoy so much as a teenager but now just cannot listen to.

I think the standards for classical music may have been better back then than 
they were for Jazz and Pop but as someone recently pointed out, it probably 
happened occasionally with those kinds of recordings too.  It makes me have 
all the more confidence in what I have been saying about the kinds of typical 
errors that I see occurring today.  The Dr. William Braid White concept of 
how a piano should be tuned may have always been in place but often, it never 
went and still goes no farther than being a concept.  The reality speaks for 
itself.

The most important reason for the modern technician to study Historical 
Temperaments and other kinds of tuning alternatives and varieties is to 
develop the kind of discriminating ear that actually can tell the difference. 
 I'm afraid this means the mastery of Aural Tuning techniques even though one 
may use Electronic Tuning Devices (ETD) as a tool but not a crutch.  It's 
kind of interesting how this ties in with that New York Times article. 

At times, I think the Steinway & Sons policy against the use of ETDs amounts 
to "shooting oneself in the foot".  I have heard far too many Reverse Well 
tunings done by aural tuners employed by Steinway for it to be a random 
occurrence.  Even the way tuning is described in their otherwise excellent 
technical manual could be described as a "Recipe for Reverse Well".  There is 
also nothing which gives a clue about how to really tune octaves.  This can 
lead to just about anything and unfortunately does.

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin