frequent tuning - floating pitch? was tuning

[David Love]

I wish I could say I had a standard approach.  If the piano is uniformly
sharp or flat by a nominal amount, I am sometimes inclined to correct only
to the degree that I can without a preliminary pitch correction before fine
tuning.  On concert instruments that I'm tuning regularly, a one or two cent
shift is not uncommon especially in a churches where the environment is not
regulated well.  In such cases, I am more inclined to leave the piano where
it is rather than go through a pitch correction which can often be
destabilizing.  You have to make judgment calls in this business within and
between tunings.  Being inflexible, when it comes to pitch, more often than
not makes your life more difficult than it needs to be--within reason, of
course.   

David Love
davidlovepianos@comcast.net 

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf
Of pianotune05
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2006 7:09 PM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: Re: frequent tuning - floating pitch? was tuning

When I approach a practice piano or a paid tuning for that matter where the 
piano is way way way flat or sharp, it's best to leave it alone?  Do I just 
tune that piano to whatever pitch the a49 is, and forget matching it to the 
fork?
Marshall
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jon Page" <jonpage@comcast.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2006 8:45 PM
Subject: frequent tuning - floating pitch? was tuning


>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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