pitch drop :was Virgil's natural beats

[David Ilvedson]

Ron,

When you say "sing" together, I take it you mean the compromise is evenly divided amongst the notes. i.e. octave, 2 octave, 3 octave etc. sound decent in any combination?  Or possibly you mean you have found the most stretch possible without it being too objectionable?  

David I.

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 2/14/01 at 2:55 PM Ron Koval wrote:

>"furry" Ron & Keith wrote:
>
>>Pitch drop happens, but I'm not convinced it is often much of a factor in 
>>the actual tuning of actual pianos.
>
>Maybe, maybe not. This goes back to your assumption that this drop
>probably 
>happens throughout the scale. Pending further evidence to the contrary,
>I'd 
>tend to conditionally agree (though I don't have any data to support the 
>assumption, I don't see any compelling reason the same phenomenon
>shouldn't 
>work at all frequencies).
>
><snip>
>ok guys and gals,
>
>We kindof touched on this last year, and were guessing? about sound 
>board/killer octave stuff.  The drop does NOT happen evenly throughout the 
>scale, and is measurable.  I notice it mostly from about A4 to A6.  Easy 
>with a good EDT, just glance at the display and re-adjust as needed on the 
>final pass. Unfortunatly, some guesswork is required as the drop is not 
>even.  I really think my work with alternate temperaments has made me more 
>sensitive to micro-adjustments.  Every little bit really DOES matter!
>
>Since most of the 'challenge' in fitting a tuning to the piano seems to 
>happen below A4, I've taken to starting the final pass around A5 and
>working 
>my way down, finding the octaves that work best with that piano.  The
>upper 
>framework is in place for checking doubles, etc..  Honestly, some pianos 
>literally walk the razor's edge in what will work and what almost works, 
>(i.e.  school Baldwin uprights) while some others give the tuner more 
>latitude to 'create' a tuning.
>(shameless plug to follow)
>
>RCT allows for multiple calculations based on tuning using different 
>partials throughout the piano.  I have found that by having a few
>different 
>tunings calculated, I can switch back and forth between partials, to find
>a 
>tuning that 'works' for most pianos.  This is especially usefull around
>the 
>tenor/bass break.
>
>Other EDT users:
>
>Do you pre-check your calculated tuning before you start?  I've found it 
>helpful to quickly tune one string of all the A's to get the octave ladder 
>"right" before starting the grunt work.  I want them all to 'sing'
>together 
>and support each other.  Check it out!
>
>Ron Koval
>
>Chicagoland
>
>.
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