This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment You know, Richard I had to think about this for a couple of days = before I really wanted to even address the issue. I have my own tastes, = I suppose, growing up on Beethoven, Chopin, a little Brahms etc. I just = don't like overly stretched tunings. Sure, I'll do it once I know the = customer is asking for it. Now, I'm not talking just about octave 7 = here, as far as I am concerned, most people never play octaves that high = and they're looking for something that MELODICALLY sounds right to them. = I also start to drop the very lowest notes when appropriate, because = they sound better when played as an arpeggio toward the lower note.=20 What I'm talking about, really, is the size of the temperament. I = just don't like an octave in the middle of the piano to have a = noticeable beat to it. Sounds too busy to me. Other tuners (some) say = that a 4/2 octave with an artificial 1.5 cent stretch added to it sounds = "dead". I know one Concert Tuner here in Phoenix who tunes his = temperament with a noticeable beat in the octave. Sorry, don't like it.=20 What I like to do, and most people really like it ( but that could = be because of stability and clean unisons for all I know) is this; I = tune the temperament with a little added stretch beyond 4/2, about 1.5 = cents. That's from F3 to A4, narrowing off at A4 to an almost pure 4/2. = >From C/5 to E/5 I'm tuning a pure 4/2, checking that my double octaves = don't have an obvious beat. ( I usually tune down to the break after the = temperament, checking all intervals as I go.) When I get to F5, I start = tuning between a clean octave and a perfect 12th. From C6 up I usually = do a pure double octave with maybe a cent or two of additional stretch. = In the past I just tuned double octaves the rest of the way, but I am = ready to concede that perhaps I should not worry about the harmonic = relationships up there, and instead concentrate on the melodic aspect of = human hearing. I think the top octave could end up being a moot point, I = guess. So, where you end up may not be as important as what the main = portion of the tuning is, anyway.=20 All I know, is that the piano sounds good to me when I hear it = played, have never ever had a complaint, and I have never even heard = third hand that anyone thought my tunings sounded "flat" or "dead" when = played in performance.=20 If I tune pure double octaves as described above, I hardly ever get = above 45 cents at C8. =20 Look, here's a test; when you're done play four octaves at the same time = toward the top of the keyboard. Do they all sound solid? Do they all = sound pretty much the same? Hey, they should! If so, you've done your = job well, in my opinion, at least. ( except going into the area of E7, = you'll start to hear it, if you really start stretching like I said.) Subject: How Much Stretch ? List=20 On the side of the other threads... I have a question I would appreciate some feedback on. Often when using ETDs that calculate tuning curves based on inharmonicity samples, I find that the resulting tuning curve shows the highest notes up in the +40 to +45 cents (sometimes even higher) range.=20 This seems reallly high to me, and I wonder if you all accept this degree of treble stretch, or you modify things.=20 My fooling around with the 12ths tuning revealed real quick that the 3rd partial of F6 almost never gets above +35 cents.... and this F6's coincident to C8's fundemental. Seems like a pretty natural place to stop... or what ? Curious as usual :) RicB ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/85/ef/cd/55/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC