From "Simon Bedak" <SBB@masseybailey.com.au>
Hello there Nicholas
>I joined the list a few weeks ago. I'm not a professional tuner or
>technician, but a hobby pianist with a desire to learn the basics of
> tuning.
I joined the list today myself and should really leave it to my betters
to offer you their invaluable advice.
> Do you have any suggestions for books discussing piano tuning from
> the bottom up? I'm sort of looking for a "tuning for dummies", as
> well as a more advanced book discussing tuning, intonation and
> mechanical action.
That said I'll jump in at the deep end.... I too am a hobbyist. My
interest stems from fairly recently being given as a gift a lovely
looking 1875 Ernst Kaps built grand piano from Dresden, Germany, which
has been sitting in an old farm house ballroom in Australia for the last
80 years. My local big city piano store, from whom I'd rented and bought
pianos since I was 7 years old, suggested that tuning the Kaps would be
"far too difficult for the lay person to contemplate and not even bother
getting started." I took exception to that, raided the library in
Canberra and discovered a wonderful 1906 publication written by an
American who's name was J.Cree Fisher. I seem to recall that this has
the imaginative title of "Piano Tuning" (followed by a sub-heading which
I've forgotten), however, despite its age I found it easy enough to
follow. Perhaps it's thorough, self-conscious, quasi-scientific manner
leant it an old world charm that kept in harmony with the ugly beast
providence had sought me out to tame. Another helpful tome was by
another American named Arthur Reblitz entitled "Piano Servicing, Tuning
& Rebuilding" issued by The Vestal Press, New York USA in c.1976. There
are no doubt other views and more books than are available in Australian
regional centres and this forum is the most likely place to learn what
those books written since 1906 and 1976 respectively might be.
> What digital devices are available for computer-assisted tuning?
> (I read your discussion of the Verituner - it looks really
> interesting.) Do you think that such a device would be useful when
> learning tuning?
I found those two books, together with the Korg OT12 to confirm pitch
(and to set it just a notch higher than perfect) gave me the chance to
transform what was an awful sounding, humourless machine into something
which has a richness in its bass strings approximating the sounds
encountered, to borrow from modern music, the 2nd to 3rd minute of "Sit
down, stand up" on Radiohead's new album "Hail to the thief" (track
two). [Not a bad album if you like that sorta thing like]. For those not
in the know, this is an agreeable thing to the author's ear.
Yet machines such as the Verituner and the Korg OT12 to confirm pitch
are probably useful to get you quickly from A to B, but it won't teach
you to tune. Reckon one still needs to follow the path evenly to spread
the tension as the plate-maker and scale-draughter intended over a few
drunken nights when they created the piano you'll probably end up
wrecking. And, although being a mere jack-of-all-trades I'm very easily
satisfied with the confirmation of the results, the digitiser's not
taught me any more than being able to accurately read a gauge and adjust
tensions accordingly. All depends on what you what to know "how" to tune
for. This is a matter entirely for you.
If you wish to tune your own instruments in a hurry, and, you're your
only client, go for it. It's great fun. There's probably hundreds of
machines and programs to investigate. Go and break some strings and
enjoy. There's nothing more invigorating than seeing a healthy F-string
from the fourth octave flying across two rooms unexpectedly into your
wife's tulips as she's placing their vase on the table as lunch is about
to be served. We got married a mere 173 days ago and the arc of that
string as it left the hitch pin and headed north is the closest thing
that's brought us even near an argument.
> A friend of mine suggested that with a digital tuning device it
> would be possible to "save" the state of the piano (all the
> frequencies, or string states) to the device and then restore it
> almost exactly as it were months later. Is this really possible? I
> guess there must be something more to it, otherwise there would be a
> lot more digital tuning devices around.
Hmmm... sounds very much out of my league but entirely possible. I'd
love to know too. My garden variety tuner (photo attached on
aforementioned c. 1875 Kaps - ser.#4496) just doesn't have that that
capability. Wish it did. It'd be like a "before and after" photo.
All the best of luck with it Nicholas.
Hope there's plenty of others on this list more sensible than I am to
steer you in the right direction.
Cheers
Simon Bedak
Level 12
20-26 O'Connell Street
Sydney NSW Australia
Ph : (02) 9221 9500
Fax: (02) 9221 5277
Mo : 0407 408 092