CAUT

I've been working with a client who is a musician and scientist/engineer.  He became interested in tuning his own piano, and uses PianoScope.  The author of PianoScope is Frank Illenberger, and these two gentlemen have been collaborating in the past few days in making improvements to the app.  Specifically, Frank has produced a beta version which introduces a time delay window which isolates a specific portion of the impact time and frequency envelope of a hammer blow in milliseconds.  This window has a selection range from 100 to 1000 milliseconds so that the tuner can see what the frequency is during the selected time frame and freezes it.  We have all heard that while tuning we should tune on the decay in the lower registers, and tune on the attack in the higher registers.  This new feature provides a new insight into the tuning process, as one can see exactly where the pitch actually is at any given moment, up to one second after the initial blow of the hammer.  It also gives a visual display of the coupling effect of all three strings struck at once versus the pitch of each string individually, thus lowering the pitch a slight amount.  Being able to freeze-frame the time/frequency display holds an amazing view of what we all know, but which zeros it in to makes the tuning process much more precise than previously possible.  Here is a video made by my client Steven Norsworthy:

Piano Tuning Using PianoScope Beta With New 'Freeze-After-Delay' Concept and Method

If you have not seen the PianoScope app, you will see it in action in this video.  There is a main indicator, a red line, which tracks the pitch of the string in real time, as well as a "strobe" effect in the background which amplifies the pitch indicator.  The new indicator is a white line independent of the other red line, which appears after striking the note and remains still.  This "freezes" the pitch after the selected millisecond interval. 

I invite discussion on the topic, and any corrections or suggestions about the video itself. 

I've been working with a client who is a musician and scientist/engineer.  He became interested in tuning his own piano, and uses PianoScope.  The author of PianoScope is Frank Illenberger, and these two gentlemen have been collaborating in the past few days in making improvements to the app.  Specifically, Frank has produced a beta version which introduces a time delay window which isolates a specific portion of the impact time and frequency envelope of a hammer blow in milliseconds.  This window has a selection range from 100 to 1000 milliseconds so that the tuner can see what the frequency is during the selected time frame and freezes it.  We have all heard that while tuning we should tune on the decay in the lower registers, and tune on the attack in the higher registers.  This new feature provides a new insight into the tuning process, as one can see exactly where the pitch actually is at any given moment, up to one second after the initial blow of the hammer.  It also gives a visual display of the coupling effect of all three strings struck at once versus the pitch of each string individually, thus lowering the pitch a slight amount.  Being able to freeze-frame the time/frequency display holds an amazing view of what we all know, but which zeros it in to makes the tuning process much more precise than previously possible.  Here is a video made by my client Steven Norsworthy:

Piano Tuning Using PianoScope Beta With New 'Freeze-After-Delay' Concept and Method

If you have not seen the PianoScope app, you will see it in action in this video.  There is a main indicator, a red line, which tracks the pitch of the string in real time, as well as a "strobe" effect in the background which amplifies the pitch indicator.  The new indicator is a white line independent of the other red line, which appears after striking the note and remains still.  This "freezes" the pitch after the selected millisecond interval. 

I invite discussion on the topic, and any corrections or suggestions about the video itself. 

I watched both videos. I marveled at the second one (that finally we get to witness the attack phase), but was not convinced by the first one (proposing that it's the attack where we should make our judgements about the tuning). I can believe that there are some technicians who have the speed of response to decide what a string needs in 0.5 seconds; among all of us, threre's an endless variety about how to tune. But as a practical matter, were I one of these people, I think I'd still wish to base my reaction not on the chaos of the attack (BTW, who's behavior varies significantly with the force of impact) instead what it settles out to for the after-prompt sound. It would be like basing your expectation that your toddler would grow up to be a responsible, happy citizen, only on the frequency and power of their tantrums. 

I've been working with a client who is a musician and scientist/engineer.  He became interested in tuning his own piano, and uses PianoScope.  The author of PianoScope is Frank Illenberger, and these two gentlemen have been collaborating in the past few days in making improvements to the app.  Specifically, Frank has produced a beta version which introduces a time delay window which isolates a specific portion of the impact time and frequency envelope of a hammer blow in milliseconds.  This window has a selection range from 100 to 1000 milliseconds so that the tuner can see what the frequency is during the selected time frame and freezes it.  We have all heard that while tuning we should tune on the decay in the lower registers, and tune on the attack in the higher registers.  This new feature provides a new insight into the tuning process, as one can see exactly where the pitch actually is at any given moment, up to one second after the initial blow of the hammer.  It also gives a visual display of the coupling effect of all three strings struck at once versus the pitch of each string individually, thus lowering the pitch a slight amount.  Being able to freeze-frame the time/frequency display holds an amazing view of what we all know, but which zeros it in to makes the tuning process much more precise than previously possible.  Here is a video made by my client Steven Norsworthy:

Piano Tuning Using PianoScope Beta With New 'Freeze-After-Delay' Concept and Method

If you have not seen the PianoScope app, you will see it in action in this video.  There is a main indicator, a red line, which tracks the pitch of the string in real time, as well as a "strobe" effect in the background which amplifies the pitch indicator.  The new indicator is a white line independent of the other red line, which appears after striking the note and remains still.  This "freezes" the pitch after the selected millisecond interval. 

I invite discussion on the topic, and any corrections or suggestions about the video itself. 

I've been working with a client who is a musician and scientist/engineer.  He became interested in tuning his own piano, and uses PianoScope.  The author of PianoScope is Frank Illenberger, and these two gentlemen have been collaborating in the past few days in making improvements to the app.  Specifically, Frank has produced a beta version which introduces a time delay window which isolates a specific portion of the impact time and frequency envelope of a hammer blow in milliseconds.  This window has a selection range from 100 to 1000 milliseconds so that the tuner can see what the frequency is during the selected time frame and freezes it.  We have all heard that while tuning we should tune on the decay in the lower registers, and tune on the attack in the higher registers.  This new feature provides a new insight into the tuning process, as one can see exactly where the pitch actually is at any given moment, up to one second after the initial blow of the hammer.  It also gives a visual display of the coupling effect of all three strings struck at once versus the pitch of each string individually, thus lowering the pitch a slight amount.  Being able to freeze-frame the time/frequency display holds an amazing view of what we all know, but which zeros it in to makes the tuning process much more precise than previously possible.  Here is a video made by my client Steven Norsworthy:

Piano Tuning Using PianoScope Beta With New 'Freeze-After-Delay' Concept and Method

If you have not seen the PianoScope app, you will see it in action in this video.  There is a main indicator, a red line, which tracks the pitch of the string in real time, as well as a "strobe" effect in the background which amplifies the pitch indicator.  The new indicator is a white line independent of the other red line, which appears after striking the note and remains still.  This "freezes" the pitch after the selected millisecond interval. 

I invite discussion on the topic, and any corrections or suggestions about the video itself. 

I've watched the development of PianoScope over the last two years. Frank has consistently asked for technician response and responded quickly to many suggestions. The app is extremely adaptable to user preferences.

This particular video was made with a Fazioli piano. I don't know to what extent the variables so nicely measured would be audible. I certainly don't hear the pitch drop of a few hundredths of a cent.

But what if the same tests were performed on the lowest plainwire string of a Yamaha GH-1?

Could this program in effect offer a way to quantify the poor behavior of a foreshortened scale or the irregular impedance of a poorly made soundboard?

Could it measure and demonstrate the improvements made by adding riblets or bridge weights?

I've been working with a client who is a musician and scientist/engineer.  He became interested in tuning his own piano, and uses PianoScope.  The author of PianoScope is Frank Illenberger, and these two gentlemen have been collaborating in the past few days in making improvements to the app.  Specifically, Frank has produced a beta version which introduces a time delay window which isolates a specific portion of the impact time and frequency envelope of a hammer blow in milliseconds.  This window has a selection range from 100 to 1000 milliseconds so that the tuner can see what the frequency is during the selected time frame and freezes it.  We have all heard that while tuning we should tune on the decay in the lower registers, and tune on the attack in the higher registers.  This new feature provides a new insight into the tuning process, as one can see exactly where the pitch actually is at any given moment, up to one second after the initial blow of the hammer.  It also gives a visual display of the coupling effect of all three strings struck at once versus the pitch of each string individually, thus lowering the pitch a slight amount.  Being able to freeze-frame the time/frequency display holds an amazing view of what we all know, but which zeros it in to makes the tuning process much more precise than previously possible.  Here is a video made by my client Steven Norsworthy:

Piano Tuning Using PianoScope Beta With New 'Freeze-After-Delay' Concept and Method

If you have not seen the PianoScope app, you will see it in action in this video.  There is a main indicator, a red line, which tracks the pitch of the string in real time, as well as a "strobe" effect in the background which amplifies the pitch indicator.  The new indicator is a white line independent of the other red line, which appears after striking the note and remains still.  This "freezes" the pitch after the selected millisecond interval. 

I invite discussion on the topic, and any corrections or suggestions about the video itself. 

Hi Ed:

I don't know if you have the app, or have tried it.  The inharmonicity curves show very clearly where there are scaling irregularities.  If you make experiments, you can take the measurement again and see any differences on the curves.  You can examine various octaves, and all intervals calculated from the inharmonicity measurements.  What you're able to do with that information I guess is up to you.  Because of the fact that every note is measured for inharmonicity, you can go in and see what is happening for each individual note.  On the lower notes in the tenor, the tension is much less, so you get a kind of 'boingy' effect.  Think like the low tenor of a Baldwin Studio Upright.  Unless you do some major changes there, I doubt much can be done.  Right now, with this capability, and the red line indicator, you can see how much a hard blow vs a soft blow affects the change in frequency during the attack, and at what time frame. That might help to understand what these GB-1 strings are doing. 

Refinements are being made and will be forthcoming soon to deal with some anomalies of this feature.  Curiously, it's a side-gig for Frank, so he has to find the time to work on it while he's doing his day job.  But yes, he's quite open to any suggestions and tries to implement any ideas very quickly.  Steve and I had a Zoom meeting this morning to discuss the new feature and answer questions. 

It appears that there is much inconsistency from note to note in how they respond to hard and soft blows.  I'm sure it also has to do with setting the pins while tuning and other factors in the tuning process.  I try to use the same technique on each pin so that each string has the same tension in the non speaking segments.  You can easily see where the tendency of the pitch changes are sharp or flat in spite of the indicator being very close.  The background "strobe" works very nicely for this.  Any left or right movement gives you hints of too much or too little tension that might affect the pitch of the note.

I've watched the development of PianoScope over the last two years. Frank has consistently asked for technician response and responded quickly to many suggestions. The app is extremely adaptable to user preferences.

This particular video was made with a Fazioli piano. I don't know to what extent the variables so nicely measured would be audible. I certainly don't hear the pitch drop of a few hundredths of a cent.

But what if the same tests were performed on the lowest plainwire string of a Yamaha GH-1?

Could this program in effect offer a way to quantify the poor behavior of a foreshortened scale or the irregular impedance of a poorly made soundboard?

Could it measure and demonstrate the improvements made by adding riblets or bridge weights?

I've been working with a client who is a musician and scientist/engineer.  He became interested in tuning his own piano, and uses PianoScope.  The author of PianoScope is Frank Illenberger, and these two gentlemen have been collaborating in the past few days in making improvements to the app.  Specifically, Frank has produced a beta version which introduces a time delay window which isolates a specific portion of the impact time and frequency envelope of a hammer blow in milliseconds.  This window has a selection range from 100 to 1000 milliseconds so that the tuner can see what the frequency is during the selected time frame and freezes it.  We have all heard that while tuning we should tune on the decay in the lower registers, and tune on the attack in the higher registers.  This new feature provides a new insight into the tuning process, as one can see exactly where the pitch actually is at any given moment, up to one second after the initial blow of the hammer.  It also gives a visual display of the coupling effect of all three strings struck at once versus the pitch of each string individually, thus lowering the pitch a slight amount.  Being able to freeze-frame the time/frequency display holds an amazing view of what we all know, but which zeros it in to makes the tuning process much more precise than previously possible.  Here is a video made by my client Steven Norsworthy:

Piano Tuning Using PianoScope Beta With New 'Freeze-After-Delay' Concept and Method

If you have not seen the PianoScope app, you will see it in action in this video.  There is a main indicator, a red line, which tracks the pitch of the string in real time, as well as a "strobe" effect in the background which amplifies the pitch indicator.  The new indicator is a white line independent of the other red line, which appears after striking the note and remains still.  This "freezes" the pitch after the selected millisecond interval. 

I invite discussion on the topic, and any corrections or suggestions about the video itself. 

Paul:

I've used PianoScope since its early days. Frank kindly made the display more adjustable in response to my request. 

I especially like being able to adjust the display to the tonal "noisiness' of the piano. For example, you can adjust the "line" indicator to drop out when the pitch is within, say 0.5 cents but continue to adjust the pin using the strobe for, say, a very slow upward drift. On a fine piano, I might set the line for 0.2 cents. On a weary piano with lots of string noise, perhaps at 1 cent. I will continue to work with the strobe display, but the line has told me I'm in the ballpark.

Being able to adjust the thickness of the red line, the scale of the display and the strobe for speed and fuzziness helps me with some visual perception problems. I think we all have our perceptual quirks, and the adaptability of PianoScope helps us find the display that minimizes visual strain.

As I am retired I don't have many opportunities to use PianoScope, but I can say it is also very adaptable to harpsichord tuning.

Hi Ed:

I don't know if you have the app, or have tried it.  The inharmonicity curves show very clearly where there are scaling irregularities.  If you make experiments, you can take the measurement again and see any differences on the curves.  You can examine various octaves, and all intervals calculated from the inharmonicity measurements.  What you're able to do with that information I guess is up to you.  Because of the fact that every note is measured for inharmonicity, you can go in and see what is happening for each individual note.  On the lower notes in the tenor, the tension is much less, so you get a kind of 'boingy' effect.  Think like the low tenor of a Baldwin Studio Upright.  Unless you do some major changes there, I doubt much can be done.  Right now, with this capability, and the red line indicator, you can see how much a hard blow vs a soft blow affects the change in frequency during the attack, and at what time frame. That might help to understand what these GB-1 strings are doing. 

Refinements are being made and will be forthcoming soon to deal with some anomalies of this feature.  Curiously, it's a side-gig for Frank, so he has to find the time to work on it while he's doing his day job.  But yes, he's quite open to any suggestions and tries to implement any ideas very quickly.  Steve and I had a Zoom meeting this morning to discuss the new feature and answer questions. 

It appears that there is much inconsistency from note to note in how they respond to hard and soft blows.  I'm sure it also has to do with setting the pins while tuning and other factors in the tuning process.  I try to use the same technique on each pin so that each string has the same tension in the non speaking segments.  You can easily see where the tendency of the pitch changes are sharp or flat in spite of the indicator being very close.  The background "strobe" works very nicely for this.  Any left or right movement gives you hints of too much or too little tension that might affect the pitch of the note.

I've watched the development of PianoScope over the last two years. Frank has consistently asked for technician response and responded quickly to many suggestions. The app is extremely adaptable to user preferences.

This particular video was made with a Fazioli piano. I don't know to what extent the variables so nicely measured would be audible. I certainly don't hear the pitch drop of a few hundredths of a cent.

But what if the same tests were performed on the lowest plainwire string of a Yamaha GH-1?

Could this program in effect offer a way to quantify the poor behavior of a foreshortened scale or the irregular impedance of a poorly made soundboard?

Could it measure and demonstrate the improvements made by adding riblets or bridge weights?

I've been working with a client who is a musician and scientist/engineer.  He became interested in tuning his own piano, and uses PianoScope.  The author of PianoScope is Frank Illenberger, and these two gentlemen have been collaborating in the past few days in making improvements to the app.  Specifically, Frank has produced a beta version which introduces a time delay window which isolates a specific portion of the impact time and frequency envelope of a hammer blow in milliseconds.  This window has a selection range from 100 to 1000 milliseconds so that the tuner can see what the frequency is during the selected time frame and freezes it.  We have all heard that while tuning we should tune on the decay in the lower registers, and tune on the attack in the higher registers.  This new feature provides a new insight into the tuning process, as one can see exactly where the pitch actually is at any given moment, up to one second after the initial blow of the hammer.  It also gives a visual display of the coupling effect of all three strings struck at once versus the pitch of each string individually, thus lowering the pitch a slight amount.  Being able to freeze-frame the time/frequency display holds an amazing view of what we all know, but which zeros it in to makes the tuning process much more precise than previously possible.  Here is a video made by my client Steven Norsworthy:

Piano Tuning Using PianoScope Beta With New 'Freeze-After-Delay' Concept and Method

If you have not seen the PianoScope app, you will see it in action in this video.  There is a main indicator, a red line, which tracks the pitch of the string in real time, as well as a "strobe" effect in the background which amplifies the pitch indicator.  The new indicator is a white line independent of the other red line, which appears after striking the note and remains still.  This "freezes" the pitch after the selected millisecond interval. 

I invite discussion on the topic, and any corrections or suggestions about the video itself. 

Hi Ed:

I don't know if you have the app, or have tried it.  The inharmonicity curves show very clearly where there are scaling irregularities.  If you make experiments, you can take the measurement again and see any differences on the curves.  You can examine various octaves, and all intervals calculated from the inharmonicity measurements.  What you're able to do with that information I guess is up to you.  Because of the fact that every note is measured for inharmonicity, you can go in and see what is happening for each individual note.  On the lower notes in the tenor, the tension is much less, so you get a kind of 'boingy' effect.  Think like the low tenor of a Baldwin Studio Upright.  Unless you do some major changes there, I doubt much can be done.  Right now, with this capability, and the red line indicator, you can see how much a hard blow vs a soft blow affects the change in frequency during the attack, and at what time frame. That might help to understand what these GB-1 strings are doing. 

Refinements are being made and will be forthcoming soon to deal with some anomalies of this feature.  Curiously, it's a side-gig for Frank, so he has to find the time to work on it while he's doing his day job.  But yes, he's quite open to any suggestions and tries to implement any ideas very quickly.  Steve and I had a Zoom meeting this morning to discuss the new feature and answer questions. 

It appears that there is much inconsistency from note to note in how they respond to hard and soft blows.  I'm sure it also has to do with setting the pins while tuning and other factors in the tuning process.  I try to use the same technique on each pin so that each string has the same tension in the non speaking segments.  You can easily see where the tendency of the pitch changes are sharp or flat in spite of the indicator being very close.  The background "strobe" works very nicely for this.  Any left or right movement gives you hints of too much or too little tension that might affect the pitch of the note.

I've watched the development of PianoScope over the last two years. Frank has consistently asked for technician response and responded quickly to many suggestions. The app is extremely adaptable to user preferences.

This particular video was made with a Fazioli piano. I don't know to what extent the variables so nicely measured would be audible. I certainly don't hear the pitch drop of a few hundredths of a cent.

But what if the same tests were performed on the lowest plainwire string of a Yamaha GH-1?

Could this program in effect offer a way to quantify the poor behavior of a foreshortened scale or the irregular impedance of a poorly made soundboard?

Could it measure and demonstrate the improvements made by adding riblets or bridge weights?

I've been working with a client who is a musician and scientist/engineer.  He became interested in tuning his own piano, and uses PianoScope.  The author of PianoScope is Frank Illenberger, and these two gentlemen have been collaborating in the past few days in making improvements to the app.  Specifically, Frank has produced a beta version which introduces a time delay window which isolates a specific portion of the impact time and frequency envelope of a hammer blow in milliseconds.  This window has a selection range from 100 to 1000 milliseconds so that the tuner can see what the frequency is during the selected time frame and freezes it.  We have all heard that while tuning we should tune on the decay in the lower registers, and tune on the attack in the higher registers.  This new feature provides a new insight into the tuning process, as one can see exactly where the pitch actually is at any given moment, up to one second after the initial blow of the hammer.  It also gives a visual display of the coupling effect of all three strings struck at once versus the pitch of each string individually, thus lowering the pitch a slight amount.  Being able to freeze-frame the time/frequency display holds an amazing view of what we all know, but which zeros it in to makes the tuning process much more precise than previously possible.  Here is a video made by my client Steven Norsworthy:

Piano Tuning Using PianoScope Beta With New 'Freeze-After-Delay' Concept and Method

If you have not seen the PianoScope app, you will see it in action in this video.  There is a main indicator, a red line, which tracks the pitch of the string in real time, as well as a "strobe" effect in the background which amplifies the pitch indicator.  The new indicator is a white line independent of the other red line, which appears after striking the note and remains still.  This "freezes" the pitch after the selected millisecond interval. 

I invite discussion on the topic, and any corrections or suggestions about the video itself.