determing Cents flat or sharp

Wimblees@AOL.COM Wimblees@AOL.COM
Wed, 12 Jan 2000 09:17:12 EST


In a message dated 1/12/00 12:53:23 AM !!!First Boot!!!, tjack@pacinfo.com 
writes:

<< Any of you brave souls care to try and explain to this newbe tuner how you
 determine that a piano is 16 cents flat or 44 cents flat etc. aurally?
 
 I have looked in every book I have and can't seem to find
 it.................
 
 Terry Jack >>


You can't get as accurate about pitch as an SAT, but you can get a pretty 
good idea by listening to the beats. In the middle octaves of the piano, 
there are 4 cents for every 1 beat. As you go higher, there are more cents 
per beats, and as you go lower there are less cents per beat. A4 has 4 cents, 
A5 has 8 cents, A6 has 16 cents etc. A3 has 2 cents, A2 has 1 cent. So its 
just a matter of counting beats, and multiplying the cents. Like I said, you 
can make a pretty good guess aurally, but An SAT, or other ETD, will give you 
the exact number.

Willem Blees


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