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THE
MUSIC TRADE
15
REVIEW
OuTTECHNICAL DEPARTMENT
CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM BRAID WHITE
KEYLESS AUTOMATIC PIANOS
In a recent issue Mr. Emulous Smith asked
some leading questions about the tuning of small
keyless automatic pianos of 44-note range. I
am now in receipt of a very interesting letter
from DeWitt Davis, of Darlington, S. C , who
speaks of the matters to which Mr. Smith refers
and conveys a great deal of most valuable in-
formation. Says he:
"Dear Bro. White—In regard to the questions
asked in the matter of tuning keyless automatic
pianos, I would suggest that the first is not per-
tinent, neither is the second, for the reason
that owing to the several makes of such in-
struments that he will eventually tune, he would
desire a more general method of approaching
the job. The third and fourth are important,
however, and I can best answer them by submit-
ting a method which, though original with me,
is doubtless well known to brother tuners. I
have found it fast, permanent and as entirely
satisfactory as may be desired.
"I first determine if there is any friction be-
tween the pneumatic and the hammer; it is gen-
erally apparent where the trackers or pitman
rods pass through the guide rail to the wippen
of the action. Remedy with graphite and vase-
line; friction takes away speed of hammer actua-
tion—retarding and softening the tone. I next
obtain a piece of pliable wrapping paper and
make a strip twice as long as the tracker bar,
make a narrow vertical perforation in the center
to register with a perforation in the tracker
bar, I place this on the latter, holding with
fingers at both ends. By this time I have the
motor running and the suction holds the paper
in place. Now slide paper along till a note will
sound flat, but close to C by your tuning fork.
Middle C will be the first C above first F above
the bass section; if the pitch is a half tone or
more flat, the bass strings will sound dull and
shackly; J always pull up for tone, but the
more you do that stunt the less permanent will
be the job unless you pull up and let stand a few
days and then let back to where you want it.
1 require a live tone and permanency irrespec-
tive of whether it is the international pitch; un-
less there are pipes to play with the piano. In
the latter case I slide the paper strip up till
second C in the pipes plays; then move the
tuning slide in the pipe till it closes one-half
of the opening controlling the pitch of the pipe,
and then tune corresponding piano unison to it;
if some one has been whittling the pipes, tune
all the C pipes in unison till a happy medium of
pitch is found. A small elastic placed around
each end of tracker bar over the paper will
serve to hold it in place while tuning. Now
make another perforation an octave below the
first finger and tune to upper C; below C make
another perforation a Fourth distant, and one a
Fifth distant, finger and tune, and you have F,
G and C of the temperament tuned. Make an-
other perforation a Fifth above G, tune, giving
D in addition to F, G and C. Now slide paper
up two perforations, G and D already tuned
will sound, tune A and E, test your Sixth or
the two extreme perforations; move paper up
again and tune B; now move paper down till
the next perforation above B registers with it,
tune F sharp and C sharp. The remainder of
the operations necessary to set a temperament
are evident. I generally make a number of
perforations and tune all octaves at one time,
though if I am real particular I take one at
a time. I tune all octaves a little sharp.
"For permanency, I pull and let back my
strings and leave them with a feeling that they
tend to bear up; I only attained this by prac-
tice. It is apparent that you finger only such
notes as are wanted to sound.
"This method will tune just as well and
easily if you start with some note close to C,
so if I am only leveling an instrument without
pipes, I make a guess as to where C is and
start off. Practical and satisfactory results
in the quickest and most convenient manner
is my motto. In a Wurlitzer quartet I found
out how much the quartet arrangement over-
lapped the piano section by putting on a roll
and playing it till a set of perforations for
playing a chord registered. Sound the octaves
and you have it.
"I found a set of pipes correctly tuned by a
man with a good reputation, but in connecting
up the tubing to the pipes he had inserted a pipe
for another purpose so that one-half the pipes
played a half tone above the rest—if he had
used the above mentioned chord test when
through he would have gotten it right. Cordially
and sincerely yours, DeWitt Davis."
Many thanks, Brother Davis. Information of
that sort is of the greatest value to us all, for
the subject is obscure and there is not available
any large amount of facts bearing on it. Those
who tune these instruments are sometimes so
terribly afraid of their neighbor that they never
tell anything they know. Mr. Smith will thank
you, Brother Davis, and so will many other
readers.
pianos on exhibit. And I am sorry to say that
I found in that exhibit very few pianos that
were really well tuned, in a great many cases
it was a surprise to me to find the Third from F
sharp to A sharp most perfect while the Third
from B flat to D was unbearably sharp. Some
times this was varied by having the Third in the
temperament G sharp to D most perfect and
the Third C to E much too sharp. So you can
imagine the pleasure one experienced when,
after looking over ten or fifteen pianos badly
tempered, we would find one that was beauti-
fully tuned.
"Now, I did not question the methods used
in the pianos at the Coliseum, but I did judge
the results, for I am old enough a tuner to
know that I have often seen one tuner lay a
good temperament by Fifth and Octave method,
and others by Thirds and Sixths and yet others
by Fourths and Fifths, and I have seen tuners
who never laid a good temperament, no odds
what method they used.
"I may add here that I was very sorry that I
could not see the piano exhibit in Chicago this
year, as I was very anxious to note if the
tuners had improved in their work the past six
years.
"Now as to the way I tune (and, mind you, I
do not pretend it is the only right way). My
boss had what he called an A flat circle, that
is, he contended the tuner should divide the
space between the middle C and the C above
into three major Thirds and in his opinion the
tuner would come out fine. So when I began
to use the keys in tuning, he required me to
tune middle C, then the A flat above it and
then the upper C, comparing the Sixth and the
Third. Then the Third from middle C to E
above, comparing with the G sharp and the
upper C. But I found as a beginner that it
was very hard for me to get the Sixth from
middle C to the A flat above. Hence I was very
TEMPERAMENT AGAIN
glad when I got a place where they insisted on
"Dear Mr. White—I have been much inter- using Fifths and octaves only, as at that time
ested in reading the views of the different tuners, this method suited me much better. I may say
as expressed in your column, and will try to in those days great account was taken of the
give my views of the subject in this article.
wolf mentioned by some of your correspond-
"In the first place, do you not think we make ents, and so long as the tuner ended his tem-
a mistake by saying there is only one right way perament with the wolf out of his last Fifth
of setting a temperament? It seems to me that there was no concern whether the Thirds were
setting a temperament is like going on a jour- comparatively smooth or not.
ney or like getting to Heaven. There are many
"Well, I used Fifths and octaves until I b.e-
roads we can take that lead us to the same gan many years ago to tune for myself, then I
place. Would it not be worse than foolish experimented, trying to find the best way or
for me to say that there is only one road from rather the way that suited my individual tem-
Philadelphia to Chicago, for instance? Would perament the best. I used Fourths and Fifths
it not be the height of bigotry for us to say that for a long time, comparing with Thirds and
there is only one road to Heaven, and that road Sixths, till I finally arrived at a circle that
the one we follow?
suits me and am using it to-day. This circle
"Now,"*Mr. Editor, the same thing applies in is as follows: Middle C, the octave F above,
setting a temperament, as much depends on the then the F below, B flat comparing with the
temperament of the tuner himself and how he two Fs, G flat comparing with B flat, then the
was first instructed, and his tendencies to ex- Fourth G flat to B. Now if the two Thirds G
periment to the end that he may do better flat and B flat and the two Thirds G natural to
work.
B natural are of the proper smoothness then I
"We should not concern ourselves so much know I am all right, and I then proceed as
with the road the tuner follows in setting his follows, comparing carefully each Third, Fourth
temperament as the results that he gets.
(Continued on page 16)
"When the piano men had their exhibit in
Chicago in 1911 it was a source of great pleas-
ure for me to slip down to the Coliseum and
compare carefully the tuning of all the different
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This formerly was the tuning department of the New
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27-29 GAINSBOROUGH ST., BOSTON. MASS.
Professional Tuners
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,
WILLIAM BRA1E WHITE
6949 Harp«r Xwmt^t,
Chicago, Ills.
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with
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