OT v-e-r-y, to the piano players

Anne Rogers wrote:

[...] a good tuner knows how to get
the best out of it and also leave it such that it won't go out of tune
ridiculously fast.

Just for random information, the speed at which
a piano goes out of tune has more to do with
humidity changes in its environment than the
intrinsic quality of the piano. Of course, if
the pinblock is old and the pins have been turned
so often that it is now time to use the next size
up pins, then yes, the piano will go out of tune
quickly, but that is something the tuner cannot
control (without replacing all the pins).

Concert halls tune their pianos before every
performance. I try to tune my piano 4x a year,
and that's not enough for me. I hear pitch
changes depending on the time of day!

-- Anita --

On Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:58:22 -0800, Irrational Number
wrote:

Anne Rogers wrote:

[...] a good tuner knows how to get
the best out of it and also leave it such that it won't go out of tune
ridiculously fast.

Just for random information, the speed at which
a piano goes out of tune has more to do with
humidity changes in its environment than the
intrinsic quality of the piano. Of course, if
the pinblock is old and the pins have been turned
so often that it is now time to use the next size
up pins, then yes, the piano will go out of tune
quickly, but that is something the tuner cannot
control (without replacing all the pins).

Concert halls tune their pianos before every
performance. I try to tune my piano 4x a year,
and that's not enough for me. I hear pitch
changes depending on the time of day!

another bit of music trivia:

To check how close to true an instument that will play an A 440 is
tuned in North America, compare it to a dial tone. The dial tone must
be standarized to be compatible on an automatic system, and the
standard is A 440.

NightMist
--

Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

I always recommend the same thing to my students, based on my
experience. If you want to get the best price, go to the yellow pages
under pianos - tuning. There are usually 2 type of ads - The tuner
with the big ad that lists the colleges that he tunes for is usually
the most expensive. The smaller, single line listings are invariably
the lesser educated (as in a junior college or online degree) and is
less expensive. If you want to be assured of the best tuning job,
spend more on the guy who works for colleges.

My first tuner was a pricey one who tuned for the local college. When
he retired, I went with the guy who was more affordable (I have 2
pianos that need to be tuned to sound good together) and this guy
could never get them both to match. I finally went back to the yellow
pages and found the man who was tuning for 2 universities - he's now
my guy.

Musicmaker

Wow. I am amazed and delighted. This group knows so much and is so
gracious to take the time to share.
Warm thanks to you all for keeping me out of trouble. I was pretty sure
picking up the phone and calling just anybody could be like roulette. Thank
you, thank you. Polly

Ahhhhh....another proponent of the dial tone. I used to tell guitar
students they could tune the "A" string to their dial tone if they needed it
in a situation where a tuning fork or tuner wasn't available..

--
Carolyn in The Old Pueblo

If it ain't broke, you're not trying. --Red Green
If it ain't broke, it ain't mine. --Carolyn McCarty

If at first you don't succeed, switch to power tools. --Red Green
If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer. --Carolyn McCarty

"NightMist" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:58:22 -0800, Irrational Number
wrote:

Anne Rogers wrote:

[...] a good tuner knows how to get
the best out of it and also leave it such that it won't go out of tune
ridiculously fast.

Just for random information, the speed at which
a piano goes out of tune has more to do with
humidity changes in its environment than the
intrinsic quality of the piano. Of course, if
the pinblock is old and the pins have been turned
so often that it is now time to use the next size
up pins, then yes, the piano will go out of tune
quickly, but that is something the tuner cannot
control (without replacing all the pins).

Concert halls tune their pianos before every
performance. I try to tune my piano 4x a year,
and that's not enough for me. I hear pitch
changes depending on the time of day!

another bit of music trivia:

To check how close to true an instument that will play an A 440 is
tuned in North America, compare it to a dial tone. The dial tone must
be standarized to be compatible on an automatic system, and the
standard is A 440.

NightMist
--

Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

Naturally . . . just because that's how I am, I carried the phone to the
piano to see if dial tone = A. It does not. It = F. So. Therefore.
Either the piano needs tuning or I need to call the phone company.
Polly


"Carolyn McCarty" wrote Ahhhhh....another proponent of the dial tone. I
used to tell guitar
students they could tune the "A" string to their dial tone if they needed
it in a situation where a tuning fork or tuner wasn't available..