[Dixielandjazz] METHODS of PIANO TUNING

[Janie McCue Lynch]

I have read every one of the postings regarding the merits of different
methods of tuning pianos, and of the other issues that may be involved wi=
th
perfecting the sound of the instrument. (At least, perfecting it to the
satisfaction of the player!)=0D
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Came across this article from the L.A. Times archives which may be of
interest to those who posted.  I have deleted much of the extraneous
conversation. (Please delete if not interested.)=0D
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Piano Tuner Blues=0D
Those who keep our ivories in key are rarely in sync themselves, especial=
ly
when debating whether to work digitally or by ear.=0D
By Paul Pringle=0D
Times Staff Writer=0D
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July 15, 2003=0D
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A note about piano tuners: They often are not in accord.=0D
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Tuners can't agree whether their ranks resonate with talent or reek of th=
e
tone-deaf. A professional guild sets the bar for training, but most tuner=
s
won't join it.=0D
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Many are sharply critical of how piano owners treat their instruments =97=
 and
their tuners. Others flatly don't care, as long as the customer pays scal=
e.=0D
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And nothing stirs more dissonance in the do-re-mi trade than the debate o=
ver
tuning by ear versus tuning by technology.=0D
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The dispute predates the Digital Age =97 electronic tuners debuted in the
1930s =97 but has grown louder as software becomes increasingly popular o=
n the
job. The Kansas City, Mo.-based Piano Technicians Guild says computers ar=
e
now used by at least half the 10,000 tuners who service America's 18 mill=
ion
pianos.=0D
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"Piano tuners love to argue," said Jim Ogden, 55, a La Ca=F1ada Flintridg=
e
resident who got into the business nine years ago. "It's just endless."=0D
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Cyber-tuning has drawn a line between the likes of Richard Davenport and =
Ron
Elliott, who otherwise have much in common. They occupy the upper range o=
f
Los Angeles tuners, with a combined six decades of experience, big-name
clients, and steady gigs at recording studios and concert halls.=0D
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The similarities stop when they lift the piano lid and go to work.=0D
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Davenport's routine is to wrestle a laptop from his gear bag, place it
gently on the piano's cast-iron plate, and power up a program that displa=
ys
a spinning green disc that measures the pitches of the 88 keys. Davenport
watches it as he tunes.=0D
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Elliott simply tilts his head toward the strings and listens. His tools a=
re
sleeved in a handyman's roll pouch. None requires batteries.=0D
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"I've always tuned by ear," he said.=0D
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Elliott tugged his tuning hammer =97 a misnamed wrench =97 this way and t=
hat on
the pin of a B-flat string, adjusting it by hair-widths, while pounding t=
he
key. The B flat reverberated like a pipe banging in a storm drain, only
purer.=0D
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"There are a lot of people who use electronic tuners," said Elliott, a
soft-spoken 51-year-old with clipped, graying hair. He wore a suit and ti=
e.=20
Maybe they never really learned to tune by ear." He said no computer can=20
hear" the subtle tonal differences between two pianos, or along the
multi-string unisons within a single instrument.=0D
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Elliott also said the gadgets can't "stretch the octaves," making the bas=
s
flatter and treble sharper =97 to suit a performer's taste.=0D
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"A machine is very rigid," said the Pasadena resident. "Tuning is creativ=
e."=0D
=0D
Elliott has tuned the Music Center's pianos for 17 years. He drifted into
the craft after studying piano.=0D
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It took him an hour to sweeten the Steinway. The piano is tuned before ev=
ery
concert. Household pianos typically are tuned once a year.=0D
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Music to His Ears=0D
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It's all about the ear, Elliot said later.=0D
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"When you start using a machine, you are allowed to become kind of lazy,"=
 he
added. "You don't really have to pay attention to what you're doing. The
machine becomes a crutch."=0D
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That's Luddite nonsense, said Davenport. He described gizmos such as
Accu-Tuner, and software packages like CyberTuner, as aids for the ear, n=
ot
substitutes.=0D
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"It's just so absurd to say that, because you're using a machine, you're =
not
tuning aurally," he said.=0D
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He said that electronic tuning cuts wear and tear on the ear, saving it f=
or
the finer adjustments, and that his customers appreciate the precision.=0D
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"The folks who aren't using it aren't necessarily the best tuners," he sa=
id
in a deep voice that fits his bearish frame. Davenport, 55, has a geeky
enthusiasm for the mathematics of music; algorithms interest him almost a=
s
much as rhythms.=0D
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Davenport focused on the spinning disc, a CyberTuner feature. He was
preparing the piano for an episode of "The Simpsons." A small orchestra
would record 40 bits of music =97 cues =97 to a videotape of the show. Mi=
chael
Lang would be on the Steinway.=0D
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"I just had a broken string =97 the high A," Davenport said, as he eyed t=
he
whirling circle. A clockwise spin meant the new string was sharp,
counterclockwise flat.=0D
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Davenport nudged the pin with his wrench and punched the key. The disc fr=
oze
and the screen blushed, signaling that the A was just right.=0D
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"I try to keep the piano in the middle," Davenport said. He polished the
tuning with his ear, tightening or loosening the odd string in tiny
increments. "It's not too bright, not too dead."=0D
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See a video report with piano tuners Richard Davenport and Ron Elliott
discussing and demonstrating the differences between computer-assisted
tuning and tuning solely by ear. Go to latimes.com/piano.=0D
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