Sanderson Accu-tuner

[John Formsma]

Rick,

Piano tuning *is* difficult, to be sure. It has a steep learning curve for
most of us.

Others have given you their recommendations. I've used the SAT II and the
Verituner. Probably what you need to do is sit down and write out what you
*ultimately* want.

You mentioned speed. Any of the ETDs will help with that.

You might want to consider which machine will best help you with learning
aural tuning by helping you "see" the partials that we listen to in aural
tuning. The Accutuner will probably excel at that, while the Verituner would
be almost no good for that purpose. (I'm not sure about the RCT since I've
not used it.)

If you wanted to have a machine to help you learn, you could get a used SAT
and save some money.

While ETDs may help, there is no substitute for getting immersed in aural
tuning theory. ETDs are only as good as their software tells them. I had
problems with the Verituner on small pianos. It wasn't what my ear wanted.
Sometimes you need octaves that are between 2:1 and 4:2, or between 4:2 and
6:3. The ear lets you know this once it's trained. Yes, there are ETD
workarounds, but you still have to aurally verify the workaround. So I
decided to ditch it and go back to doing aural-only work.

Tuning aurally is challenging yet fun for me. Yes, some days it can be
difficult. But the skills keep getting better and better if you work on
them.

My mentor was fond of saying, "If you tune aurally, you'll improve your
ears. If you tune with a machine, you'll improve your eyes."

ETDs can be helpful. Mine was more of a crutch. I am also preparing for the
tuning exam. Like I said above, there is no better learning tool than
getting immersed in the theory of it. That's where I am, and I've seen
significant improvement in the last few weeks just because I've rethought
some things I was doing.

There is a "help" email group for PTG Associates to prepare for the exams.
It's called ExamPrep. There should be a link on the ptg.org site.

Best wishes,

JF

On 6/8/07, Rick Osborne <rve at bvunet.net> wrote:
>
> Greetings,
>
> Having been a musician and teacher for a number of years, I believe I
> know a well tuned piano with I play it.  When I got into piano tuning
> 2 years ago, I was convinced that, with my trained ear, I would be
> able to tune a piano to "my" satisfaction.  I am still convinced of
> this, but it hasn't happened nearly as quickly as I hoped it would.
>
> Although I am tuning pianos for pay and am fairly  pleased with my
> work, I am keenly aware that I will never be completely satisfied
> with my work as a tuner until I am satisfied with it as a teacher and
> musician.
>
> I believe that I'm doing all the right things, but I still want to
> progress more quickly.  I would also like to speed up my tuning in a
> client's home.  So, I am giving serious consideration to purchasing a
> Sanderson Accu-tuner.  I have heard wonderful things about this piece
> of equipment and, my intentions have always been to buy one
> eventually. Any input from some of you who own one would be very
> helpful.
>
> One more thing, I am preparing for Guild examinations and I know the
> Sat III has a program dedicated to Guild exam preparation.  Have any
> of you ever used it and was it helpful?  Thank you for taking the
> time to read this e-mail.  Take care and God bless.
>
> Rick
>
>
>
>
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