Thanks for your help, Ron. That makes sense, though I wish there was a more definite answer. I guess pitch raising aurally is a tricky skill to learn. >From: Ron Nossaman <rnossaman@cox.net> >Reply-To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org> >To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org> >Subject: Re: Pitch Raise >Date: Sat, 07 Jan 2006 11:45:00 -0600 > > > >>I am a novice tuner learning to tune aurally. I am confused as to how to >>do an effective aural pitch raise. > >It'll probably take you longer to learn to do an effective aural pitch >raise dependably than to learn to tune acceptably. > > >>How can you accurately judge whether a piano needs a pitch raise (without >>an electronic guage)? > >I don't think you can, accurately, with any method. So much depends on the >situation, and every tuner has a different threshold. Just figuring out >where the piano is in pitch is guesswork. If you live in a part of the >world that has seasons, you'll find often tuned pianos that are very close >in the A-4 area, five beats flat or sharp in the low tenor, and the same in >octave 6. The bass will be pretty close, and the high treble could be >anywhere. Most of your clientele won't be too interested in paying for >pitch corrections twice a year, so you do the best you can in one pass. > >At A-4, each beat per second is four cents. I tune school systems where the >pianos are off 4+ beats (16+ cents) sharp or flat at A-4. They get one >pass. While this won't produce concert level tuning, it's surprising how >nice sounding a tuning you can produce like this with practice, which is >good, because that's all they will get under these circumstances. > >In other venues, a 4 cent or smaller change will require a pitch adjustment >pass. > >Bottom line is, there isn't a rule. Your judgment is made on the likelihood >of your meeting the requirements of the tuning in this instance, on this >piano, in one pass. > > >>Once you determine a pitch raise is necessary, is there a particular >>sequence to use when pitch raising? I am aware of the general guideline of >>overshooting a string by half the amount that it is flat. Do you do this >>on every note, or is there a certain graduation as you go to the bass and >>the treble? > >I start with the overshoot at the fork, and set a decent, but not overly >fussy temperament. I then chase the overshoot beat rate by octaves up to >the treble break, and down to the low tenor. The overshoot in the bass will >be less, or none. Overshoot through octave 6 will be more than in the >center, tapering to none at the top. > >Again, everyone slays their pitch correction dragon in their own fashion. >You'll just have to keep paying attention and adjusting your approach until >you find a set of processes that work for you. > >Ron N >_______________________________________________ >pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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