Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1926 Vol. 82 N. 21

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
TECHNICALANDSUPPLY
DEPARTMENT
William Br aidW\\te f 7ecAmcal Editor
Tuners Should Be Better Mechanics—
A Missouri Tuner on the Hale Method
A West Virginia Tuner Urges a Wider Education of the Tuner in Regard to Mechanical Repair
Work, Claiming the Standard of Knowledge in This Direction Is Not High—Mathe-
matics of the Piano Scale a Necessary Part of the Tuners' Equipment
T
H E shortcomings of tuners are doubtless
as the sands of the sea, and it would ill
become any member of the craft to quar-
rel with those who, for the best of good
reasons, from time to time urge him to look to
his faults and redeem them. Criticism is al-
ways best of course when it comes from one
of the family, which is why I am glad of the
opportunity to publish the following trenchant
remarks from a West Virginia brother who has
something to say about the mechanical short-
comings of his confreres. Says he:
"In a recent number of The Review there
was a good article about replacing hammers in
pianos which was a plain explanation in detail,
leaving nothing to be guessed by an amateur
starting out in business. It was one of the best
in the line of mechanics I have seen for some
time. It reminds me of some of the books I
hav-e collected, from time to time, on various
technical subjects, from across the Atlantic.
Most of them are thorough on detail and ex-
plain things as it were in a kindergarten way,
telling not only why a thing should be done
thus and so, but giving the most explicit and
detailed instruction how to do it.
One Authority
"I remember once reading one authority who
said (if I remember correctly) that 'about
nine-tenths of the tuners knew practically
nothing about mechanical work on piano ac-
tions, etc., when repairs are necessary.' Speak-
ing in general, I believe the statement is true,
and I should like to suggest that you give us
articles from time to time, containing a
thorough drilling on mechanical engineering,
not leaving out the slightest detail, as to the
hows and whys of doing things, especially how
to use and manipulate the different tools, etc., in
the piano line.
"Tuners who would succeed must, in fu-
ture, be mechanics as well as technicians in
sound.
: "Thousands of tuners have fine lay-outs of
tools, but do not know how to use them. That
may seem like a broad statement, but I, believe
it is true. Say to one, 'take your key spacer
and space that key,' to another, 'adjust those
keys with your key pliers, get your regulating
Don't Lose Money
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tools and regulate the dampers, buttons, jacks,
etc., in the action.'
"Out of 100 you would be surprised to sec
the number who know practically nothing as
to how to perform these operations.
"For the general good of the tuners, mechani-
cians and repairmen, I would like you, together
with other technicians, to teach men out on the
line to be better and more proficient in ad-
justments and the proper use of tools.—B. D.
Snyder, Hedgesville, West Virginia."
Comment
The brother is severe, but he would be a very
bold man who would say that the accusation is
baseless. The truth is that the craft has al-
ways been distinguished for its slovenliness and
inaccuracy in matters of fine tool handling and,
indeed, in whatever it has to do with the
mechanical side of the piano. Now it is not al-
ways recognized that the piano is not merely a
box of strings but a mechanical achievement
of the highest and most exquisite delicacy. Few
engineers have the slightest idea of the beauty
and complexity of the piano. Few men who
are not actually in the manufacture itself, in-
deed, have any adequate notion of how highly
organized, how delicate and how beautifully
designed are the mechanical moving parts of
this king of musical instruments. Now, such
ignorance may be excusable in outsiders, but it
is inexcusable among professed experts. Tun-
ers in general are very bad piano mechanics.
For this state of affairs there are indeed many
explanations, which moreover lose nothing
through their very baldness. It has been im-
possible in the past to expose the craft thor-
oughly to technical training, simply because the
factories which should be the nurseries of such
training have never been either able or willing
to do anything adequate in this way. This de-
partment in The Review represents, along with
the Tuners Journal, the only serious attempt
William Braid White
Associate, American Society of Mechanical Engi-
neer!; Chairman, Wood Industries Division, A. S.
M. B . ; Member, American Physical Society; Mem-
ber, National Piano Technicians' Association.
Consulting Engineer to
the Piano Industry
Tonally and Mechanically Correct Scales
Tonal and Technical 8urr*ys of Product
Tonal Betterment Work in Factories
ever made to maintain a fund of technical in-
formation in the subjects we are considering,
and, of course, The Review's efforts long ante-
date all others. Personally, nothing pleases me
better than to find out what readers need and
then do my best to supply accordingly. If,
then, readers feel that they would like to get
more mechanical articles on regulating, etc.,
during the year, will they please write in, say
what they want, and be as specific as possible.
Then I may be in a fair position to see what
can be done. Let me have a lot of letters on
this point, if you please.
The Gentleman is From Missouri
"I have been studying the method set forth
by Mr. Hale for setting the temperament and
consider it good. Some may think I am partial
for the reason that I use a similar method. Mr.
Hale starts from C as his fundamental, but I
take F after starting from C, tuning the major
third, the major sixth, the minor third and the
minor sixth, also the fourth, tuning upwards
and downwards—when necessary in order to
stay within the compass of an octave.
"Mr. Murphy has recently commented on the
fourths and fifths method. This is all right
if it is properly done, for, of course, if the
fourths and fifths are properly tempered, the
thirds and sixths will come out right, but for
closely accurate work, towards which every
tuner should strive, I like Mr. Hale's method
better.
"On the other hand, I think that either Mr.
Hale's method or mine is more difficult for a
beginner, who should use one easier, at least
until he has become familiar with the beats. I
think that the fourths and fifths method is
easier for the beginner. I learned the fifth up-
wards method and used it for some time. I
consider it better for the beginner because there
are fewer impurities in the intervals and the
beats are slower.
"The fifths upward system, as I call it, is
worked in the two octaves from C 2 to C 4.
Each time you tune a fifth, you tune its octave
too, above or below as the case may be. But
for the advanced tuner, I prefer Mr. Hale's
method.
"I have learned through contact with them
that there are many fairly good tuners who
know nothing of the mathematics of the scale
and think such knowledge useless, save only
for scientific discussion. This is a serious mis-
take, and I think it would be well for you to
bring out in some number of The Review plain
figures of the beats in the major and minor
thirds and sixths. Some such discussion would
be very much to the advantage of the many
tuners who think it useless.—Missouri Tuner."
Comment
I wish that correspondents would send their
names always, for if a man wishes to appear
anonymous in the paper he only has to say so
and his wishes shall be respected. But let me
Established 1901
References to manufacturers of unquestioned posi-
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For particular*,
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PIANO TUNING—ACTION
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38
Tuners
and Repairers
Our new illustrated catalogue of Piano and
Player Hardware Felts and Tools is now
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If you haven't received your copy
please let us know.
OTTO R. TREFZ, JR.
2110 Fairmount Ave.
Phila., Pa.
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
39
The Music Trade Review
MAY 22, 1926
The Technical and Supply Department—(Continued from page 38)
have the name always, if merely as a guar-
antee of good faith.
I have published this letter mainly because it
enables me to make some observations that re-
quire to be made, and because, too, it brings up
the old fifths and octaves tuning, which once
was universal and which some tuners have been
taught, even in these days, to practice.
In the first place it is really quite a mistake
to suppose that the Hale or any other thirds
and sixths system is per se more difficult to
the beginner. If the beginner, in fact, starts
under proper teaching auspices, he can learn the
beats of the thirds and sixths quite as quickly
and as easily as he can those of the slower
fourths and fifths. In fact, I think he can learn
the fast beats more easily, because they are
more obvious once they have been pointed out.
The important point in the discussion is the
position of the beginner. My correspondent
seems to imply that novice tuners necessarily
must obtain all their experience upon the pianos
of their customers, and for that reason, it
should seem, he feels that anything which will
enable them to gain rough approximations to
accuracy is to be welcome. Therefore, as I
take it, he thinks the student, in case he can
do no better, may start with the certainly in-
accurate and crude fifths and octaves system.
Now I dissent from this view, because I think
the whole point is as to how the student should
get his first knowledge. If he will only learn
a little something about the scientific facts first,
he will save himself an immense amount of
trouble, and besides will find that it is sheer
waste of time to mess around with inaccurate
and crude methods which sooner or later must
be unlearned. The fault is in the student's
desire to be earning before he has done learn-
ing; wherein, no doubt, he differs not at all
from those other thousands who want to be
president of the bank before they have mas-
tered the use of the adding machine at the
bookkeeper's desk. But tuning is not to be
learned by hit-or-miss methods. Unhappily, as
I know, there have been professional teachers
who preferred to send out their students
equipped only with terribly crude and incorrect
knowledge. Such teachers have excused them-
selves by arguing that the student who has paid
to be taught must have results as quickly a«
possible, to the end that he may not have to
wait, after investing in tuition, too long before
he .begins to get back his investment. The
excuse is plausible, but none the less it is
wholly unjustifiable. He who cannot take the
needed time to learn properly has no right to
call himself a tuner at all.
There is another side to it. When it comes
straight to a question of methods, I think that
Mr. Hale's method of tuning is just as easy
for the student as is any other. It is a method,
just as the fifths and octaves of the fourths and
fifths system. The aim is precisely the same in
each case. It is a question of chopping up the
octave into twelve equal parts; and the only
difference of opinion or practice that can legiti-
mately exist is concerned with the individual
practice of the individual practitioner. The
thing might be done equally well by any of the
methods mentioned, for all are roads leading to
the same town. The important question is:
"Which one is more likely to form good habits
in the learner and enable him to obtain the
most accurate results?" I think myself that the
answer is between Mr. Hale's method and mine,
as the letter has been fully set forth in my
FAUST SCHOOL
OF TUNING
Standard of America
Alumni of 2000
Piano TuMnf, Pipe and Reed Organ
aad Ptay«r Pi.no Tear Book Free.
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book on this subject, "Modern Piano Tuning."
In this book I have carefully calculated all
the beat rates of which our Missouri corre-
spondent speaks. Everything is set forth step,
by step, nor can I see how a student who will
take the trouble to study the thing*»through
from first page to last can possibly misunder-
stand or go wrong, save by accident.
Let it be said once more, and as definitely
as possible, that the equal temperament is just
what its name implies, namely an equal division
of the octave in two twelve equal parts. It is
artificial, nor would it exist if the requirements
of musical harmony could otherwise be met
through the medium of a keyboard possessing
only twelve keys within each octave.
Correspondence
is solicited and should be addressed to William
Braid White, 5149 Agatite avenue, Chicago.
New Piano Patents
WASHINGTON, D. C, May 17.—Patent No. 1,581,-
955 was last week granted to John H. Karstet-
ter, Altoona, Pa., for a pneumatic music sheet
control for player-pianos. This invention re-
lates to automatic controls for the music sheets
of player-pianos.
The invention has as its general object to
provide a pneumatic device which will operate
to automatically maintain the music sheet of a
player-piano properly co-ordinated with the
tracker bar during the playing of a selection
and thereby obviate the discords which are pro-
duced when the sheet travels unevenly or shifts
across the tracker bar in its travel.
One of the primary objects of the invention
is to provide means which will operate auto-
matically to co-ordinate the traveling sheet with
the tracker bar and to maintain the same so
co-ordinated during the entire time of the travel
of the sheet over the tracker bar, the means be-
ing so constructed and operating in such a man-
ner as to obviate shifting of the sheet across
the bar an undue distance.
Another object of the invention is to provide
in apparatus of this class a novel pneumatic
control which will operate with precision and
in a most efficient manner.
The American Piano Co., New York, is the
owner, through assignment by Charles F. Stod-
dad, same place, of Patent No. 1,583,197 for
an expression mechanism for player-pianos.
This invention relates to automatic musical in-
struments and pertains more particularly to ex-
pression mechanisms for the same.
It is an object of this invention to provide a
unitary expression mechanism which may be as-
sembled as a unit for installation in a piano.
Jonathan O. Fowler, New York, has been
granted Patent No. 1,584,282 for a music-roll
feed mechanism. In this invention the inventor
employs preferably music-roll magazines or car-
riers adapted to carry a series of music-rolls
whereby, without changing the latter by hand,
the instrument may be enabled to play the se-
lections of each roll separately at will, or to
play the entire number of selections on all the
rolls seriatim as a continuous performance.
There is also provided a new self-playing in-
strument arranged so as to permit the use of
interchangeable music-rolls whereby any one of
the tune sheets may be brought into operative
position, simultaneously with the advance move-
ment of the winding or take-up roll in order to
draw the tune sheet over a tracker-board and to
cause the operation of the music instrumental-
ities and then to afterward automatically re-
wind the tune sheet upon its roll after the tune
has been played. Means are meanwhile pro-
vided for advancing the roll carrier a step.
Consult the Universal Want Directory of
The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
free of charge to men who desire positions.
TUNERS
AND
REPAIRERS
Our new catalogue of piano and
Player Hardware, Felts and
Tools is now ready. If you
haven't received your copy
please let us know.
Hammacher, Schlemmer & Co.
New York, Since 1848
4th Ave. and 13th St.

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