electronic pitch source

pianotune05@comcast.net pianotune05@comcast.net
Sun, 08 Jan 2006 21:30:09 +0000


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Hi Dave,
Thanks for allowing me not to feel like I'm stupid or something because i'm not a scientific person.  I do appreciate that you too realize that we can use our God given senses to tune.  I do have a thick skin however, and appreciate Ed's ideas.  At the same time, I definitly appreciate your understanding as to where I am in my journey as a new tuner.  I feel because I haven't tuned 5 million pianos that I'm not good at this   You know, old self esteem things that try to haunt us from our childhood.  In my case, they try to come and haunt me as I try to learn this new and exciting trade/craft/art.  I know I can do this, I just need to get confident, and I hope I can say I 've tuned more than the number lof pianos I either practiced on or completely tuned.  I'm not sure of the number. Some tunings I finished, others I took too long to finish.  These were practice tunings for free.  I'll admit, its under 20 pianos, but I know I can do this, and that's why I'm launching out by faith and getting my name out there.  I have a paid tuning on Thursday, and Im scared to death, but I know I can do this otherwise God wouldn't have opened the door for me to do it.  How do I k now it's an open door?  The guy originally said he didn't have room for me as a back up tuner, over the free lunch he I received.  A week or two later he calls me to tune because I was willing to give him a lower rate.  He knows I'm new at this.  

So yes, I think Ed meant well, but I do appreciate you defending my case because it's intimidating when you rub elbows with these heavy hitters, and someone willing to take the side of a new struggling person like myself, at piano tuning/etc a great friend in my book. Thanks Dave.
Marshall

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From: David Andersen <david@davidandersenpianos.com> 

Marshall-
 
If someone taught you to check A4 with F3, they don't know how to tune a piano.
Do you know the overtone series? (Also called partial series)
Do you know what coincident partials are?
These are the first things you need to know.  If you know them, you can figure out almost every problem of tuning for yourself.  If you don't know them, you won't really understand the answers, even if someone gives you the right answer.
1) You need to be able to play an overtone (partial) series on any note, up to the 8th partial.
2) You need to be able to find the "least coincident partials" between any two notes, and especially between thirds, fourths and fifths.
You need to stop everything and learn these two skills.  It may take a few days to learn them.  Eveything will begin to make sense when you have these skills.
 
Sincerely,
Ed Sutton


With all due respect, Ed, making these kinds of statements is ill-considered; very judgemental and dogmatic.  There are many, many ways to get to be a proficient piano tuner.  Perhaps Marshall has a natural affinity for listening to the whole tone, as artists hear the piano.  Maybe following that affinity, and trusting it, will take him to the place he wants to go.  Who are you to tell him he’s wrong, or that his mentor is wrong?  Is this the way we welcome new people into our little world? Marshall obviously has a big passion for this, and is trying to find his way. We need to be supportive. I’ve never done a tuning with an ETD, and I’ve never consciously “partial-matched”  during any of the 25,000 tunings I’ve done.  I’ve got a pretty good practice, and I can tune as well as almost anyone in the world.

Different strokes for different folks.......please.

David Andersen
Malibu, CA 
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