[pianotech] Octaves & Unions

[Israel Stein]

Susan and all,

This issue is even more critical at 
recording sessions, where the tuner is 
typically asked to "check and fix up the 
piano" during breaks. So you want to get 
rid of the "oinkers", but not in such a 
way that there is an audible sudden 
change in pitch when all the different 
"takes" are spliced together. (Typically 
at a recording session the piece is 
played through and recorded several 
times and then passages where the 
performers - or "spotters" who are 
listening - felt that there were 
problems are recorded several more 
times. The final product is "spliced' 
together from the best takes...) This is 
where you have to trust your ear 100% - 
an ETD is worse than useless, it could 
get you in real trouble...

Israel Stein


On 2/4/2011, 11:59 AM, Susan Kline wrote:
> On 2/3/2011 11:31 PM, tnrwim at aol.com 
> wrote:
>> It could be that the middle string 
>> has slipped, so when you tune the 
>> outside strings to the middle string, 
>> the whole note is out of tune with 
>> the rest of the piano. 
> This is a problem when doing touchups 
> at intermission. Even if nothing is 
> very far out, if enough strings have 
> moved _just a little_ where do you put 
> your patches?
>
> If you pluck across the three strings, 
> and two are in tune with each other 
> and the third is flat, you can pull up 
> the third, and then check an octave, 
> and also check fifths and fourths up 
> and down.
>
> If all three are at different pitches, 
> it gets harder. Still, the supposition 
> is that the lowest string is out. One 
> has to depend more and more on how an 
> individual string fits with what's 
> left of the tuning. Luckily even a 
> rough player who likes to poke hard at 
> the keys seldom makes such a hash of a 
> tuning.
>
> Then there's the question of whether 
> whole sections have shifted, due to 
> bright lights, or whatever. I suppose 
> someone using an ETD has a decision to 
> make at this point -- reset the 
> machine? There's not time to retune 
> the whole thing.
>
> Susan

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