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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
15
Oiuf TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT
CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM BRAID WHITE
SPLICES
"Dear Mr. White—Allow me to thank you for
the many good suggestions received in the past
five years through your page in The Review. I
wish to offer a method of tying a square knot
in broken bass strings, which I worked out for
myself many years ago, and which is less liable
to break than your method of the loop given
August 25. I enclose sample, which will show
how to bend the wire so that the two pieces
will pull together. If this is worth printing you
may use it. S. D. Kennison, Minneapolis,
Minn."
Mr. Kennison takes his old wire and the new
piece and in each bends over the end so as to
bring the bent-over portion parallel with the
original length, and about one-fourth inch dis-
tant from it. The two parallel lines of wire are
then slightly pinched together about one-fourth
inch from the bend, and the embryo loop thus
formed is then slightly bent upwards to make
a very blunt angle with the parallel lines. The
free end of the bent-over piece is also slightly
bent upwards and the two pieces are then
hooked into each other. They should now, upon
being tightened, curl together and twist over
on each other, making a firm knot.
Very good, Mr. Kennison, you do it very
gently. But does the redoubtable Manning pro-
ceed so mercifully? Not, in the words of the
poet, by a jug-full. See, if your feelings can
stand the harrowing process, by what unmerciful
methods the Elyrian wages war. See, and be
struck with terror!
Or to drop the tragic and come back to terra
cotta, as Mrs. Malaprop used to say, behold what
I shall denominate the slam positive:
"Dear Mr. White—I agree with you that there
are several ways of splicing bass strings; at
least there is a right way and a wrong way.
But why you should select the worst possible
way of all, call it the easiest, and proceed to
describe it, passes my power of insight, un-
less it may have been done to provoke criti-
cism. If so, it ought to accomplish its pur-
pose.
"I suppose that factory-trained men, never hav-
ing occasion to splice strings, cannot be blamed
for not knowing how; but the amateurish
method which you described in the last Review
is precisely the kind of a splice which always ex-
cites the derision, if not the profanity, of the
skilled workman who believes in neatness and
efficiency. With its many turns of wire par-
tially untwisted and drawn out, it takes up a
space of three or four inches in length and pre-
sents a most uncouth and bunglesome appear-
ance. It consumes too much wire in the mak-
ing, and it never gets done stretching. More-
over, it will not stand much strain without cut-
ting itself in two, in the same way that the
grocery clerk does with his twine. By twisting
it around the fingers so as to form two loops
which interlock, like yours, it is surprising how
easily a stout twine may be severed.
"The best splice for piano wire is the square
knot. It is not much over a half inch in
length, takes very little wire, does not stretch
further when once drawn together; and never
breaks. The wire will break somewhere else
before the splice will give way.
FAUST SCHOOL OF TUNING
Piano, Player-Piano, Pipe and Reed Organ Tuning and Re-
pairing, alt* Regulating, Voicing, Varnishing and Polishing
This formerly was the tuning department of the New
England Conservatory of Music, and Oliver C. Faust was
head of the department for 20 years previous to its dis-
continuance.
Courses in mathematical piano scale construction and
drafting of same have been added.
Pupils have daily practise in Chickering & Sons' factory.
^Year Book sent free upon request.
27-29 GAINSBOROUGH ST., BOSTON. MASS.
"To make it: With your round-nose pliers
take hold of the wire about three-eighths of one-
half inch from the end, according to the thick-
ness of the wire, and bend into a hook, so that
the two branches of the hook are parallel. If,
before doing this, the short end of the wire is
first bent somewhat in the opposite direction,
the two parts may be made to lie close to-
gether and parallel; while the round bow or
end will be wider. Next, take this hook flatwise
between the jaws of your flat pliers, so as to
allow nearly one-fourth inch of the round end,
where the wire is bent, to project outside the
jaws. Take this loop, also flatwise, with your
round pliers and bend it sidewise about as far
as you have room to do.
'
"Treat the other piece of wire in the same
way; and you will find that the two. hooks can
be easily put together so that the double wire
of each piece will pass through the loop of
the other, forming a true square knot.
"The only precaution necessary is to see that
the two hooks are alike, with the bows bent
towards the same side. Both rights, or both
lefts; but not one right and the other left.
Then, when put together, the two wires which
receive the strain will come together and twist
around each other firmly, while the two short
ends will be likewise interlocked.
"The proper way to make a neat job in splic-
ing a bass string is to turn it end for end and
ascertain if the eye end is long enough for wind-
ing on the tuning-pin (after cutting off the eye,
of course). If so, splice on a new eye end and
you can entirely conceal the splice behind the
muffling tapes in the bottom of the piano.
"A newly-spliced string should be tuned some-
what too sharp, so as to make allowance for
the stretching of the piece of new wire spliced
on. W. B. Manning, Elyria, O."
In a private letter to me Brother Manning
expresses a desire to hide himself modestly be-
hind the pseudonym "A Veteran." He does
not wish, he says, to monopolize the department.
Let me assure him he does not. We are always
glad to hear from him; for he always has some-
thing to say.
The little treatise on splices is very much to
the point and covers the subject in fine style.
But, as one who finds himself, to his surprise
but without other damage, pilloried as amateur-
ish, and an unskilled workman who is a foe to
neatness and efficiency, perhaps I had better
say no more. I might make the brother really
mad; and then!
It is true that my splices have usually looked
good and have for some reason quite refused
to break as my venerable Elyrian mentor proves
they must. But his proposal, as well as that
of Brother Kennison, is first class in every re-
spect; and I thank both the brethren for taking
the trouble to take me up.
TEMPERAMENT
Comes my friend Kennison once more, this
time to break a lance in the famous T. T. (Tem-
perament Tourney, of course). Says he:
"A word on the temperament question, please.
I think the system of Thirds from C to C is the
quickest method for the beginner to learn, as
by it he can learn all the intervals. Where he
has this method he should be able to set a tem-
Professional Tuners
perament anywhere within a range of two oc-
taves. Usually he can get a better tempera-
ment before he can get good octaves or unisons.
"Later, when I found nearly all tuners using
Fourths and Fifths, from F to F, and not wish-
ing to be an odd one, I decided I could use
F to F, as well as C to C, using the Fourth and
Fifth method. But I still use the Thirds and
Sixths. In learning the latter, we were taught to
get the beat-rate of the Third, lower C to E,
fixed firmly in our minds. Now, when using the
other, I try to have the rate F—A fixed; and
one is as easy as the other to remember. So
now I am using a method practically the same
as yours. I was a student of F. W. Hale in
Boston in the year 1889. Respectfully, S. D.
Kennison, Minneapolis, Minn."
All right, Brother Kennison. You have had
both methods. But you do not tell us which
you really prefer, unless we are to suppose by
your sticking to Fourths and Fifths for so long,
that you find them to be your best bet. Is it so?
A "TEMPERAMENTAL" MOTION
"Dear Mr. White—I have read all the letters
on Temperament to date, but have noticed no
reference to what I believe is a point worthy
of consideration, viz.: The relation of the tem-
perament of the tuner to the tempering of the
scale.
"Is it not possible that one method would suit
a certain tuner better than another one would?
The objects in view are (1) to get an even tem-
permanent, and (2) to tune the piano. If the
two octave method is used, the piano is that
much nearer tuned when the temperament is
set, providing no mistakes are made.
"Every first class tuner aims at accuracy, so-
lidity and speed, and he will not be satisfied
until he thinks he has discovered the best method
to this end. I never used the system of Thirds,
although O. C. Faust explained it to me years
ago, but I first used the old system of Fourths
and Fifths in which you start with C or A and
go half way around the circle, then go back and
finish in the opposite direction. My work was
unsatisfactory to myself, and I set about to
find a method better suited to my temperament.
I soon discovered that I could more easily leave
a string sharp than flat and began to devise a
system in which I could leave every string sharp
and still flat my Fifths. Of course, to do this
(Continued on page 16)
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POLKS SCHOOL
PIANO TUNING
OF
The Pioneer School
who feel the need of improving their technical
and practical knowledge in advanced tuning,
grand piano work and general player work, are
invited to correspond with me. I am prepared to
take a few such gentlemen for short coaching
courses in these subjects. I do not teach by cor-
respondence. Address, for particulars,
UP-TO-DATE METHODS
WILLIAM BRAID WHITE
6949 Harper Arenue
Chicago, Ills.
VALPARAISO,
with
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