At 6:39 PM -0400 7/14/02, J Patrick Draine wrote:
>>> Affleck Piano Tuning offers an "ebook" on "How to Tune Your Piano."
>>> Is is worth the $19.97? I'm a beginner and interested in getting
>>> information from as many (reliable) sources as I can on tuning pianos
>>> aurally.
>
>Why don't you start with the PACE series, tha manual on prepping for
>the the PTG tuning exams, and Rick Baldassin's book, all available
>from the PTG (I believe a PDF of the catalog of publications etc is
>available at www.ptg.org). They are authoritative, though they do
>cost more than $19.97.
Those are excellent primers. Further useful articles on the subject
of the basis of aural tuning are Jack Stebbins RPT "Partial Hearing,
Your Greatest Asset" (??/95?), myself "Your Friend, the Unison"
(??/92?), and for some real sophistication any, Thing by Dan Levitan
RPT. All of these, descriptions of the basic environment of the aural
dimension.
The real value of aural tuning is that when you put a human ear to
the sound, that human while listening to the sound, will also be
hearing the condition of the bridge pins, the capo bar, the wire, the
board, the hammers, the keyframe, the bronze bearings in the casters,
whatever. And because he has spent more than a few years learning how
to tune aurally, well, he also has had the time to learn plenty about
what these sounds mean for the piano's musicality and its health. And
to do whatever this piano wants and needs.
When you put an ETD on the tuning, the tuning issues from a very
sophisticated mathematical model of "harmony in a piano". The curves
in this tuning may be exquisitely drawn, but all of the other
incoming signals (the buzzing, choking, rattling, and whining, and
the pure gold) are not involved in the mathematical model, and as
such are filtered out of what we read visually like so much noise.
It takes several years to make a good piano (mainly, the work of the
technician in home). It takes several years to make an decent aural
tuner (anything shorter is a true gift). And it takes a village to
make sure of there are plenty of young and new technicians gaining in
skills (and I've seen many on this list gain, not me of course), and
dedicated to the proper care of pianos. If the pianos don't survive,
we won't survive. It's a symbiotic relationship. And it ensures that
pianos stay singing on this planet for longer.
I'm just now putting one foot over the line into ETD tuning, not
because I'm having difficulty zero-beating the 7th partials in a
unison nearly up through the 4th octave as well as I did 10 years
ago. The reasons are other, and are the common ones cited by
long-time (and sharp) aural tuners. However, listening to the sound
at it shows me far more of the strength of the piano, than does
looking at it, so I am working through separation anxiety. (You got
issues wit' my issues?).
Anyway, when I was a kid we had to walk a mile to get to school,
going through a mountain pass and an alligator-infested swamp.
Speaking of "the village" and other liberal ideas,
At 10:15 PM -0700 7/12/02, Kevin E. Ramsey wrote:
>(For all you Liberals, pass the ammunition, that's right, that's how
>it's spelled.(Ammunition, that is)).
The actual spelling is two words commonly used to describe our
beloved country: ammo nation. (I hope you're ready to smile & laugh
after a stressful Friday.)
Bill Ballard RPT
NH Chapter, P.T.G.
"My, my, my. Such a lot of guns around town and so few brains!"
...........Humphry Bogart in "The Deep Sleep"
+++++++++++++++++++++
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