Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
PRACTICAL PIANO TUNING
By ALEXANDER HART
Formerly with Steinway & Sons Tuning Department, Instructor
Piano Tuning, Teachers College, Columbia University, N. Y.
Registered Member of the
National Association of Piano Tuners
CHAPTER 35-Piano Tuning in Review
Tuning Instruction
Now for a bit of tuning instruction.
Are you practicing up on your
octaves and unisons? Don't neglect this
procedure. Being careful with tempera-
ments is fair enough, but remember, the
entire make-up of tuning is chromatic,
that is, the half-tones with octaves per-
fect clear unisons make a fine sounding
job.
good lesson to be learned (and
only through experience) is to
A
know what specific tool to carry in the
tool kit and how it can serve for more
than one purpose.
One such tool is a long-nosed pliers
for pushing the flange pin back in place
without spoiling the bushing cloth.
It is not an uncommon occurrence to
find that flange pins have worked their
LOMC N O S E ?Ll££
POO. PUSHING FL.AN3E PIN*
WITHOUT DAMAGE TO
way out and often interfering with the
movement of another whippen flange.
As an example, when a pin moves from
one abstract or extension to another, th?
key balance and repetition is also dis-
turbed. These pliers come in handy to
catch each side of the pin, and push it
back where it should be.
Many sticking keys can be traced
around the flange area. There are ex-
treme cases when flanges have been
tampered with, that is, not intentionally,
but by using a screwdriver instead of
the pliers described. When this happens
there is no alternative but to rebush or
replace. It's far better to insert a new
one.
Unglued Jacks
The problem of jacks coming un-
glued can be easily solved by using the
long-nosed pliers. First of all, you can
hold the jack flange steady, and be able
to seat it in the groove, without the
likelihood of jumping out of place
when your back is turned.
If you observe the cut, it will be seen
how, by its extreme length, it is possible
to pass the pl'crs through the whippen
wire and bridle wire without difficulty.
This alone is a time saver, and makes
the work easier.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, NOVEMBER, 1951
IN PL AC C
On the other hand, setting a fine bear-
ing without being particular with uni-
sons and octaves, can spoil the fruitful
work preceeding the extra care already
expended but don't count with the final
test.
You will find especially those who do
not know how to modulate usually test
the tuning by octaves, otherwise being
careful to set a good temperament as
well as the other intervals nicely bal-
anced goes a long way for clean cut
work.
When we think of fine piano tuning,
that is, harmonizing the strings, we must
include tonality, in other words kev-
stone or tonic, i.e., choosing any tone
to write music.
All other tones from C # to D, with-
in the octaves D:£t and the rest. They
"can all serve as a tonic for either a
major or a minor scale, and its own
set of tonal relationships, and its own
group of chords.
ACQUAINT YOUR PERSONNEL
with
ZEISS PRECISION TUNING
CHARTS
Price $50.00 — A Must for Spinets
Zeiss Charts
Box 51
Brawley, Calif.
Composers have twenty-four tonal
levels—twenty-four keys, twelve major
and twelve minor.
When we speak of tonality or the key
of the piece, then we describe its spe-
cific tonal level tonic around which
tonal structure is built. As an example,
take B—as a tone we have five sharps,
and half step to the right C with no
sharps, tonal levels. Rather intricate for
amateur listeners, yet the tuner's work
is to build a musical scale for the com-
poser so that changes of key called
modulation can hold and increase his
interest in his musical compositions.
Tonality is a powerful asset in the
art of tuning pianos. When fine tuning
measures up in sets of tonal relation-
ships, that each and every key can be a
starting point, and also serve as an axis
that all keys—chords and thus inver-
sions blend without offending the ear
in the slightest degree, one can call him-
self skilled in the art of pianoforte
tuning.
Aeolian Co. Announces Record
Library in Fifth Ave. Salon
On Monday, November 5th, the Aeol-
ian Co., 536 Fifth Ave., New York, used
liberal newspaper space advertising the
grand opening of Aeolian's new record
library, on Wednesday, November 7th.
The new record library is on the main
floor of the new Aeolian Building at
the above address, designed by Richard
Bellamy. Several soundproof listening
booths have been installed.
At the opening, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m..
on November 7th, Morton Gould was
present and autographed four of his
records "Moonglow" and "Deep Pur-
ple", and "Charleston" and "Diane"
which were given away free to those
who attended the opening.
PLAYERS REBUILT
• Airmotors
• Pneumatics
• Bellows
• Rebuilt
Wri+e: TOLBERT F. CHEEK
1 i Beauport Ave., Gloucester, Mass.
25