Bill, You wrote: <<<For me, the strip mute allows me to move across the piano quickly. When I tune aurally, I still tune up and down in whole steps the way I learned from Jim Coleman RPT. This whole step scale seems to cause less internal stress than the ever tension building chromatic scale. The pins are easy to find, they are always in a straight line.>>> OK, 'splain. Less internal stress? Do you go C-D-E-F#-G#-A#-C all the way up and down, then the rest of the notes up and down? Do you rely exclusively on your octave-fifth and double octave tests, or do you use 3rds, 10ths, 17ths as well? (I have found that my ear prefers a more pure octave-fifth than a double octave, so I tend to tune a sharper treble.) How would the pins be easier to find than by going chromatically? Do you get every other one, and why is it easier than moving to the adjacent one? <<<It usually only takes me 45 minutes to tune the piano twice over completely and have a very good, stable job.>>> That is pretty fast. Do you test on the first pass, or rely on octave sound alone? <<<So, in the end, I do not challenge what the single mute tuners say. It's just that I rarely get to the point where I find a piano already so well in tune that I can use that method. So, finding the method that works for you under differing circumstances is the thing to do. From what you have written, it seems that you are doing very well.>>> I usually do not find a piano that is that stable, either. But, I am spending some time in the trenches, so to speak, learning different methods. So I will occasionally do two passes while charging only for one--just for the privilege of learning. Recently, I even tuned a Henry F. Miller spinet using Virgil's method. Just for kicks. Never again, but at least I know it can be done. Best regards, John Formsma Blue Mountain, MS
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