Tuning Devices

[Dave Nereson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David" <dmntn@charter.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 10:55 AM
Subject: Tuning Devices


> I have recently started learning to tune pianos.  I am interested in
tuning devices that will assist me in learning to tune and when I start
tuning for pay.  I have heard and read about numerous brands and types.
These include the Accu-Tuner, Peterson AutoStrobe, Reyburn
> CyberTuner, and Sabine Tuners to mention a few.  I am currently using a
Seiko ST 767 Chromatic Tuner which I get the impression may not be very
accurate for pianos, works great for my guitar.  Any input would be
appreciated.
>
> Thanks
> David McCausland

    If you want to be a "real" piano tuner and understand what you're doing
and why,
and still be able to tune a piano when your electonic device's battery dies
or you forget to charge it,
or the customer doesn't trust tuners who use a "scope,"
but mainly for the practice of learning to hear beats, their speeds,
what a beatless unison sounds like,
what "false beats" sound like,
what a "good" octave sounds like, what a stretched octave sounds like,
what a pure, or just, interval, as opposed to a stretched or narrowed
interval sounds like,
I recommend learning to tune FIRST BY EAR ALONE, then consider an electronic
tuning aid after you know what you're doing.
    Otherwise the chances of its becoming a crutch and your not developing
your ear are far greater, in my opinion.
    If you join PTG and want to pass the tuning exam, you have to set a
temperament and tune some octaves and unisons by ear anyhow, I believe.
    Guitar tuners are not accurate enough for pianos and don't have the
ability to read the piano's inharmonicity and calculate a tuning tailored to
a specific piano.  That's why they're so much less expensive.
    --David Nereson, RPT