for those on the fence about hearing protection..

[Mark Purney]

I don't think you need to be a key-pounder to warrant the use of hearing 
protection. I also think some pianos are worse for the ears than others. 
The room's size, shape and surface materials, as well as placement of 
the piano within the room can change the sound pressure levels at the 
listening position for various frequency ranges. There are some pianos 
that actually cause my ears discomfort in the midrange area, even if I'm 
using moderate test blows and have my Etymotic earplugs in all the way. 
There are other pianos that seem more harsh in the treble, and some that 
are so easy on the ears that I almost forget to put in my earplugs.

Consider that some pianists experience hearing loss just from practicing 
a lot. I doubt they play continuously at a sound level that competes 
with what the average tuner is subjected to.

But I think this turned into more of a debate about how firm our test 
blows should be. I'm sure there is such a thing as pounding too hard, 
but I'm convinced that too soft a test blow is inviting trouble, 
especially if it's a piano we do not have a lot of prior experience 
with. If our test blows don't match or exceed the pianist's hardest 
playing, then we are actually letting the pianist perform the test blows 
for us. If a string is binding on a v-bar. I don't want the pianist to 
be the one to balance out the tension, because I would not expect any 
repeat business from that customer.

I recently tuned a church grand in which, before tuning, I could mute 
off a string in the octave 7 region, and knock it 3 to 8 cents flat with 
just one moderate test blow (not pounding, but about as hard as I might 
actually strike a key when playing my favorite Liszt Etude). The 
previous tuner might suggest I play too hard, but I would say he did not 
use firm enough test blows, and got lucky that nobody played it hard 
enough to cause a problem.




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