Re: [Harp-L] Re: Temperments of other instruments

["Bob Laughlin" <rlaughlin@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I am not a piano tuner, but took three semesters of piano tuning and
regulation at a local community college. We were taught that the piano was
tuned Justly until the time of Beethoven, at which time they began tuning
the piano in equal temperament, to avoid the "wolf tone" that resulted from
certain keys being played, ones that the piano was not intended to play in.
The ET tuning is basically a compromise in the so-called "perfect" pitch of
each note, tuning each note slightly off-pitch, in order that ALL keys may
be played without noticeably sour notes being produced in ANY key.

 In ET, each note is tuned slightly off pitch, by so many "cents", compared
to the other notes. This compromise produces "beats", which an experienced
tuner can hear, count, and determine, depending on the two notes being
compared, how far off "perfect" the two notes have been compromised, and
thusly giving the tuner a way to tune pianos entirely by ear, though most
tuners still lean on the electronic instrument as a help. The number of
"beats" one can hear between any two notes is different for each pair, going
from the lowest to the highest notes. Tables have been developed which give
a rough indication of which two notes "should" have "so" many beats per
second when played simultaneously.

Here, in comparison, is another opinion, emphasizing the artistry of the
tuner over the use of merely theoretical beat tables:

http://www.amarilli.co.uk/piano/theory/paradigm.asp

I, for one, never fully learned to tune a piano, since the teacher I studied
under merely emphasized using the Peterson tuner, over the use of one's ear.
I disagreed in part with his emphasis, so I chose not to listen well in
class, during the tuning instruction. Unfortunately, but at least, I only
learned how to regulate the action of the pianos I worked on, and make
simple repairs. My father was able to tune both pianos and pipe organs well,
never having used an electronic instrument.

BL

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "fjm" <mktspot@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "h-l" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, September 16, 2007 10:25 AM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re: Temperments of other instruments


> I was under the impression that pianos are not tuned strictly 12 ET.  We
> do have a piano tuner on the list perhaps he could comment?  My
> subjective hearing of pianos is that they can and do sound dreadful in
> the wrong key.  Another thought regarding harmonicas is that until
> relatively recently they were employed in ways that exploited their 7
> limit JI tuning scheme.  Was the Golden Melody a reaction to a perceived
> need?  I can't imagine that I was the only person ever to write Hohner
> and ask  why the 5 and 9 draw were so dreadfully flat of the tonic.  fjm
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