I almost tuned ET!

[Billbrpt@AOL.COM]

List, especially Conrad,

My last tuning of the day turned out to be an old Knabe Grand that came from 
Salt Lake City.  It was a job I did for Tim Farley's business.  He always 
wants HT type tuning, preferably 1/7 Comma Meantone but he trusts my judgment 
and accepts EBVT.  I decided to listen to the temperament and to my pleasant 
surprise, it was a passable ET!

There was a note on the piano asking for it to be tuned at A-440 but no 
specified temperament.  The children were home and let me in and the man of 
the house was to be home shortly.  There was Bach's book of Goldberg 
Variations (all the music has only one sharp and in my opinion, this does in 
no way require ET) on the music desk and under that, there was an old tuning 
hammer and an A fork.

I tested the A and it was on pitch.  I listened to the temperament and 
contrary to my usual finding, it was a nearly flawless ET with no Reverse 
Well tendencies.  I recorded it in my Exam program and having studied how to 
do that D*** FAC Program, I put it in and tuned the F3-F4 octave.  I then 
read the results into the Reference page of the Exam program.  There were but 
three small errors that gave the temperament as it was a score of 91.

This was the first time in a real long time that I wasn't sure what to do.  I 
called Mr. Farley and told him the circumstances adding that I really didn't 
know why the piano was being tuned since it was pretty darn good the way it 
was.  I asked if he thought I should go ahead with ET this time and he said, 
"yes".  I hated spoiling an 11 year record of having NEVER tuned ET for 
anyone for any reason (except PTG Exams).  I dreaded listening to it 
afterwards but I thought perhaps *this* particular customer might be shocked 
at a different temperament because maybe he knows how to tune the piano 
himself and didn't know anything about HT's.

I had started tuning when he came home.  I talked to him for a while about 
the reasons Farley's technicians don't usually do ET.  He was interested and 
had me start over doing the EBVT.  He gave me a $10 tip and as I left, I 
heard the strains of the 1st Prelude of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier Music 
coming from the house.

Whew! I nearly spoiled a perfect record of 11 years of *unethical* tunings!

Believe it, or STUFF it!

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin