frequent tuning - floating pitch? was tuning

[Farrell]

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> Interesting ideas that I hadn't considered.  Although I have=20
> not encountered this kind of difficulty with pitch=20
> fluctuation on my own pianos, both new and re-built (despite=20
> living in Cleveland and now Illinois for quite a few years=20
> now), I can appreciate the perspective of technicians with=20
> more experienceand your experience dealing with fluctuating=20
> climates.  I agree that in cases where pitch tends to=20
> fluctuate in a problematic way, stability would be a higher=20
> priority than tuning to A440. =20
>=20
> I've never really considered this, however...I always=20
> thought a piano was "in tune" if it was at 440 and the=20
> notion of "pitch correction" seems to be another way of=20
> saying "tuning."  (I tend to think of the "pitch raise" as=20
> the result of years of failing to have the piano tuned, in=20
> which case an extra charge seems reasonable.  I know I won't=20
> get much support for this notion on this list though:)
 =20
This gets back to the discussion on whether it is appropriate to =
"punish" a piano owner for not tuning their piano for years by charging =
for a pitch raise. I don't care if it has been 4 days or 40 years since =
the piano was last tuned to standard international pitch - if the client =
wants the piano at A440 and it is 15 cents flat, then they will be =
charged for a pitch raise if I am servicing their piano.
=20
> I would assume that pianos naturally fall a bit flat over=20
> time, but if they are really swinging this far sharp during=20
> the summers, then that's another matter altogether, I=20
> suppose.  Based on your responses, I would modify my=20
> previous view that it is not ethical to leave a piano at=20
> anything other than A440, although I still hope this is the=20
> norm in most cases.

I don't agree with this exactly. IMHO, it is not ethical to be dishonest =
with the piano owner. They need to be educated about standard pitch, and =
how a piano's pitch can fluctuate. If the client does not need A440 =
exactly (as is most often the case), and floating the pitch will work =
for them, that can be a great way to go. That is not unethical if the =
client know what you are doing and approves of it. If they need A440 =
exactly, then of course, A440 it will be - but they will pay extra if a =
pitch adjustment is needed.

My original post was about tuning pianos on a cruise ship. I only have =
three or four hours to service eight pianos. My client is well aware =
that he isn't going to get eight full tunings in that time and for the =
fee we have agreed upon. He is aware that I float pitch between A440 and =
A442. Of course, being that these pianos see a tuning lever every other =
week, and the climate onboard the ship is quite stable, a typical tuning =
is much closer to "some touchup" as opposed to a piano that sees a =
technician once per year.

=20
> About my suggestion of pinblock wear, this was the only=20
> possible problem that I could think of with very frequent=20
> tunings, based on the loosness of some pins on concert=20
> grands that I've encountered, including my own CD.  I would=20
> assume that a re-stringing would need to be done earlier on=20
> these instruments that have regularly been tuned weekly or=20
> even daily, comparing with the normal grand that gets 2-4=20
> tunings per year.
>=20
> Tim=20

Gee, I don't know that I have much expertise on all this, but when I =
tune a piano once per year, some of the pins get turned some significant =
amount by me. However, when tuning pianos every other week, it is =
difficult to describe the infinitesimal amount that a typical tuning pin =
gets turned - it is very, very small. Seems to me that a tuning =
pin/pinblock see about the same amount of total pin movement whether the =
piano is tuned once per year or every other week. No science here, just =
my observation and guessing.

Terry Farrell
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