Pianotech

  • 1.  Piano tuner wanted to tune unequal temperament in Wheaton, Illinois, 30 miles West of Chicago

    Posted 12-13-2020 07:20
    A few days ago I had an email in response to Bach in a good Unequal Temperament
    YouTube remove preview
    Bach in a good Unequal Temperament
    Concert at Hammerwood Park in Unequal Temperament
    View this on YouTube >

    "I watched a video on youtube of a concert at the Hammerwood Park of a lady playing Bach's partita in B flat and I was absolutely taken over by this system of tuning. It is outstanding! The best I have heard in a long time. The quality of sound is unbelievable.  I am a composer and pianist, currently teach in Chicago, and I would love to learn more about this system. Is it possible to tune any piano this way? and would any piano improve the voicing? Can this be done on lower end pianos like Kawais and Yamahas?"

    Is there anyone in the area who could tune my unequal temperament for him in Wheaton, Illinois? It's Kellner but there are certain things I do in certain ways which I'll talk about to whoever might tune for him.

    I responded:
    "Thank you so much for your encouraging email.
    The tuning system can be applied to any piano. Here it is applied to a rubbish piano https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgmlgEkSWRI demonstrating the effect that it can have on using the sustain pedal for true sustain, not merely as a kick-drum pedal on every beat for amplification and here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb6pt3OvU_o on a rather nice instrument. 
    Here https://youtu.be/mnTDkj5dYYc?t=7289 on a Yamaha C7 and hear what the young lad is able to do when I let him into the secret.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z3o0x4dKJI a Boston Steinway concert instrument, although I have changed my tuning system a little since then
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQZTd-mWDek Bosendorfer concert instrument
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIneuz5ueDY Steinway B - but using mobile phone for recording
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJT5Q6HooyA my 1885 Bechstein using my old system
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajMy45C4HeY ditto  and my more recent system gives better resonance
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bsw2P4w4Bk Chopin with original pedalling using my new system
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzDC5e1S7UQ concert this year on Hammerwood Bechstein 
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t7l5OQKz2Y Rough tuning of 1869 Cottage Grand Broadwood (two movements from rougher tuning - instrument had just been restrung)
    Sorry - there's a lot to listen to there but a good representation of what the tuning does.
    It works on small uprights too. In the south of France I tuned an upright which hadn't been tuned for 25 years, a make I'd never heard of, did a semitone pitch-rise in two passes, and it came out sounding . . . like a Steinway. Well almost. It was extremely impressive.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k61eHv9piMc is a seminar we did last year continued at https://youtu.be/s5cqS8ztMvY with part better edited at https://youtu.be/18nzfGzdAD0.
     


    His response was interesting:
    "I already watched like half of the videos you sent me, and the sound is consistent in all of them, even though they are different pianos, this is unbelievable! Amazing! I love this system of tuning very much. I particularly loved the Chopin preludes! I love that the sound is always crystalline, is never opaque like most pianos now. It truly sounds like what Italians call "sonido perlato."  I assume you live in the UK, if you ever come to the States let me know, or if I visit the UK, I for sure will try to stop by Hammerwood Park.  Your videos have really impacted me."

    So this might be an area where there's real business for other tuners to take up . . .

    Best wishes

    David P

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    David Pinnegar BSc ARCS
    Hammerwood Park, East Grinstead, Sussex, UK
    +44 1342 850594
    "High Definition" Tuning
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  • 2.  RE: Piano tuner wanted to tune unequal temperament in Wheaton, Illinois, 30 miles West of Chicago

    Posted 12-13-2020 10:28
    Circle of Fifths


    Source: https://hpschd.nu/g/tech/tmp/kellner.gif

    Pure Fifth narrowed by 1/5 Pythagorean comma: C-G, G-D, D-A, A-E and B-F#.

    Pure Fifth: E-B, F#-C#, C#-Ab, Ab-Eb, Eb-Bb, Bb-F and F-C.


    Cents Offsets

    C 0.00
    C# −9.78
    D −5.47
    D# −5.87
    E −10.95
    F −1.96
    F# −11.73
    G −2.74
    G# −7.82
    A −8.21
    A# −3.91
    B −8.99
    C 0.00


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    Roshan Kakiya
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Piano tuner wanted to tune unequal temperament in Wheaton, Illinois, 30 miles West of Chicago

    Posted 12-14-2020 15:10
    I see the Kellner-Bach temperament is available on the pro version of Piano Meter, so it is possible someone close to Wheaton could do it, but would probably need some advice from you and refinements and your approach. I'm not sure what stretch is being used for the Kellner-Bach in Piano Meter. I remember you said you tune the middle of the piano with no stretch, but then it seems you'll have to compensate with more stretch as you reach the extremes. Also, how much are you stretching low bass, etc? I watched another video of yours done on the same piano with new Abel hammers that is more pleasant to listen to and includes some chordal moments. I do think historical temperaments are not all that noticeable when the music is constantly moving and few "chords" are happening but for a few milliseconds before moving on, ya know? Anyhow, I think tuning your way could certainly be approached using Piano Meter and some tweeks. I'm about 3 hrs away from Wheaton, but will probably head over to Bourbonais, IL some day to visit an old friend. I doubt if this will happen before we're through the Covid situation. By then, the person requesting the tuning will have moved, perhaps. Anyhow, I doubt I'd drive all the way over there just to put a Kellner-Bach temperament on a piano. It could be fun for someone local to try, though.

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    Richard Adkins
    Piano Technician
    Coe College
    Cedar Rapids, IA
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Piano tuner wanted to tune unequal temperament in Wheaton, Illinois, 30 miles West of Chicago

    Posted 12-14-2020 17:29
    Dear Richard

    Great to hear from you and your interest and I hope that it might peek the curiosity of others.

    Obviously with Covid this year opportunities for tuning and performance have been limited but https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzDC5e1S7UQ was the Hammerwood summer recital for which I think I tuned as perfectly as could be possible and demonstrates how the Abel hammers have settled down after a few years. 

    Ralph Allwood kindly did a video about my tuning for him on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb6pt3OvU_o and the reason for his enthusiasm might be audible with chords that he plays on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37ikvLFLiAg . Dipping into https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu0CRCuTPr8 we can hear some key colours which might be shocking to many but which now are very ordinary to me.

    To an audience such nuances are subliminal - nothing is nasty enough to be heard at 10 metres away, but the sensitive performer will react to what is heard and will affect the performance.

    I'm beginning to get the message that my tuning will be becoming mainstream, such is the enthusiasm of comments on certain of the recordings on YouTube and this afternoon I took a phone call from a British musician researching the use of the piano with the Indian Ragas using 22 divisions per octave. The question is as to whether we can get a significant number of those to accord to a usable scale for classical music.

    To anyone wanting to experiment, tuning Kellner by whatever method you choose is unlikely to come out badly, although in recent years I've found a technique that's reproducibly good across all pianos. That method I'm calling "High Definition" tuning so as to provide a focus and hope that tuners might want to join with me in taking it forward.

    PianoMeter will produce a good sound to start with. I'd recommend setting the scale with it and possibly going up into the treble as it recommends, but below middle C tune by ear and those who focus on getting a good sound in Equal Temperament will do so well enough with Kellner too.

    A PTG member close to Illinois has come forward and I've put him in touch with instructions, and it will be really interesting to hear the result and whether the enthusiasm in Wheaton might compete with Ralph's in London.

    Best wishes

    David P

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    David Pinnegar, B.Sc., A.R.C.S.
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    +44 1342 850594



    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Piano tuner wanted to tune unequal temperament in Wheaton, Illinois, 30 miles West of Chicago

    Posted 01-01-2021 20:26
    Greetings!

    Happy New Year!

    The pianist near Illinois writes:
    Michael did a good job, I love this tuning system! The piano at home is an old spinet, but still got a very beautiful sound, this is amazing! I will never go back to equal temperament. I am working on a recording of some piano pieces and I will ask to tune the piano this way. I am so glad I came to your youtube channel, thanks for this!!  

    Many congratulations to Michael Gutowski and he might now start to be in high demand. Fingers crossed.

    Best wishes

    David P

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    David Pinnegar, B.Sc., A.R.C.S.
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    +44 1342 850594



    Original Message