[pianotech] once a year school tunings (was: offsetting fromA440)

[David Nereson]

    Wim, yes I'm aware that the middle of the soundboard swells 
out with humidity, somehow resulting in the low tenor strings 
being the sharpest.  Here in Denver, the low tenor on many 
pianos is 25 cents sharp at the end of August.
    The schools don't want to pay for more than one tuning a 
year, never mind an added charge for a pitch raise.   So I try 
to float the pitch so that I don't have to do a pitch raise.  If 
I were to lower the pianos to A440 in Aug./Sept., they would 
need a pitch raise in November.
    I do bring the middle down, trying not to change the pitch 
much on the rest of the long bridge or in the bass.  The whole 
piano is still sharp, and in November it'll be close to A440 and 
pretty much stays there the rest of the school year.
    Some teachers have agreed to tolerate out of tuneness for 
the beginning of the school year, then have them tuned in 
November.  Others realize they'll have to tune them twice if 
they want them at pitch for the whole year.
    --David Nereson, RPT