frequent tuning - floating pitch? was tuning

[Nichols]

Jon, and other pitch-floater rationalizers,
    More power to you, and all your points are understood and well-taken. I 
would like to point out one observation, though, from tuning pianos to 
440....  I've found that in a lot of cases, a piano that is allowed to 
float is more likely to float. I do both, of course, to fit the situation. 
Many of my gigs require 440, and quite a few are allowed to float a little 
bit,(usually matching the bass). What I've noticed is that piano that 
always hits 440 will be more likely to stay near there, just as floaters 
float. I don't think that the extra "cranking" is excessive, unless there's 
a real pin tightness problem anyway. I have always believed that there's a 
stability factor at the pressure zones and rendering areas. When I tune a 
piano that had many tunings in it's initial years, it seems to know where 
it belongs, even after it's been allowed to go way flat. You can feel it. 
When I tune a piano that I displayed and used as a recital piano for six 
months or more, with lots of initial tunings, the dern things stay put forever.

Just an observation, as I said.

Guy

At 08:45 PM 1/28/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>I realize that some tuners prize the opportunity for pitch correction
>and tuning then boast about the money making venture.
>
>For the most part, I see that as a disservice to the customer.
>I'm not referring to major pitch corrections of a quarter to half
>tone flat but within 2 to 4 beats either side.
>
>Unless there is a compelling reason to maintain 440 because of
>playing with fixed-pitch instruments or a Pianomation or similar;
>floating the pitch benefits the customer financially and reduces pin
>wrenching on the piano. The tuning is more stable having not
>subjected the piano to a tension change.
>
>For those compelled to set the piano to 440 at a tuning consider
>where the pitch will reside between tunings. I instruct the owners
>that if I tune it to 438 now that it will traverse through 440 as the
>humidity elevates and ending up sharp of 440. Then the tuning
>during high humidity will be at 442 or 444 depending on the
>fluctuation. Once I know the range, I can tune it seasonally to
>maintain a 440 median, also taking into account the relative
>position of the bass and treble; levelling off. I strive for the least
>overall tension change.
>
>Where there has been a financial concern but not a pitch concern,
>I have pulled it up the maximum amount to be still left with an
>appreciable tuning. Over a few years the piano is at pitch.
>Or yanked it up for beginners' ear training sacrificing the extremes;
>they'll be pulled-in with subsequent tunings as the students progress.
>
>You can pull it up 4 bps (16 cents) and be left with an appreciable tuning.
>--
>
>Regards,
>
>Jon Page
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