Duplex

[Richard Brekne]

Susan Kline wrote:

> At 01:26 AM 11/18/2001 +1100, you wrote:
> >The idea of "massaging" the duplex scale.
>
> A good string player can tell you this is a bad idea. It's a habit
> with a lot of ignorant string players to press on a string in
> the peg box if the note is SLIGHTLY flat, and to pull the
> speaking length of the string sideways if it is sharp.
>
> A cello, violin, etc., will go out of tune minutes after
> this is done. It leads to furious retuning in between movements
> of a piece. A good teacher will warn students against this
> kind of string manipulation.
>
> Since a piano has more friction, it might take hours or days
> to go out of tune after "massaging" wire, or it might go out of
> tune in minutes if heavy playing pulls wire into uniform tension
> between segments.
>
> Susan

I agree Susan. And have thought about this since the whole idea of
massageing, or running a thumb over, or a wooden stick or what have
you.  In the end if the tension of the duplex length is not the same
as the rest of the string it would seem one is asking for an untuned
piano. Now if one accomplishes this by some massage proceedure then
fine, but if this is used to "tune" a duplex at the expence of said
even tensions... then it sounds like trouble with a capital T.


--
Richard Brekne
RPT, N.P.T.F.
Bergen, Norway
mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no