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#4

Thursday morning, June 24, I met with some very kind, helpful people at the registration desk. I stated that I'd like to take the tuning exam, where there any slots still open.

An hour later I got a call from the person in charge of the tuning exams. On this followed a personal interview, which turned out to be a pretty relaxed conversation.

- Has anybody pre-screened you?
- Well, uhm, no.
- Could you name an RPT that would vouch for you?
- Yes.
- Sounds good. Still, would you mind sitting down with me at the piano, for verification?
- Not at all, I'd be glad to.

Half an hour later I was good for a slot on Monday, June 27. A few hours after the interview, I understood why there is a need for pre-screening. This all became very clear when I sat in on one of the master tunings.

#5

It spanned most of the day, yes, but that's just the way it turned out. It started at 1 PM, and about 6 hours later I had a quick shower and headed for the ballroom reception.

The master tuning was a new experience to me, but still the spirit in the room was familiar. A group of people, doing their very best, without considering arbitrariness even an option. Set place, set team - deliver.

I was, and I still am, impressed by the care and devotion put into the master tuning I witnessed. I saw a trusted group of people do their very best to rule out any luck, failure, and subjectivity on the examinee's part.

- Why three of you? I asked the certified tuning examiner (CTE)
- Because most of the time, you'd want verification, and no matter how good you are, your everyday luxury tuning session would - if possible - include a 2nd and a 3rd opinion. Here we have that, and we benefit from it.

Contemplating that, saving any performance anxiety for the written exam, I took a needed weekend break.

#6

The day before the written exam (saturday, July 26), I took the written exam prep course at the convention. I'm very glad I did so. There was not really much new information, but I got a hunch for how the written test was composed. I also witnessed the lecturer get lost in his passion about the subject, and only get half-way through the study guide in the 90 minutes he had to his disposal. In a perfect world I'd have him start from the last page, backing up (because the first pages where tuning-related things). Still, I loved his dedication.

Oh, and did I mention that Jim Coleman Sr. was everywhere? Sitting in on the master tuning, at the receptions, in the exhibit hall, giving master classes… he is certainly alive and kicking . He also gave me a precious advice regarding the tuning exam: "Don't try anything new".

I really carried that with me. I recieved a wealth of information at the convention, during the days before my tuning exam. Many do's and dont's. Jim's experienced advice kept me focused.

Pat, did they tell you what the required octave stretch was? (Apart from octave 7 which has to be 2:1.) I mean the difference between stretch of Cordier tuning and say 4:1 octaves is something like 63 cents on the upper note.
I know there is a 6 cent tolerance which is not much. The difference between 2:1 and 4:2 octaves is already more than that on a typical Steinway.

Kees

Thanks for sharing your insights and experiences, Patrick. Nicely put. All of it!

Glen

Thanks, Glen



Kees,

no, they didn't really. But what I can tell you is that the master tuning sounded in tune, albeit a bit conservatively held - which undoubtedly served the purpose. It was symmetrical, as in sticking to progressive beat rates up (4:2, 4:2+ -> 2:1), and down (practically 6:3's to the bottom). This is not the way I would necessarily tune a piano, and I dare to stick my neck out and suggest that the CTE/RPT's would tune differently, too. Their personal tunings would, however, differ from a mean, and I honestly think that the master tuning sought that very mean to personalize from.

#7

Sunday, the day of the written exam. Simple setup - multiple choice, or true/false. Five sections - tuning, grand regulation, vertical regulation, repairs and voicing, general information. Each section 20 pts, totaling 100 max, 80 pts needed to pass.

There are quite a few different question, but - as far as I remember - if you've read the Reblitz book, you could ace the test.

[Fact is (off record), I think the written test is based on the Reblitz book. Even the divisions of the test itself bear resemblance to the chapter division of the book. By reading Reblitz book and implementing it, I believe it's fully possible to score 100/100 - at least in the test I took (I think there are a few different ones used by PTG, but I would assume that the source of reference have stayed the same)]

A word of advice here: check, double-check and triple-check that your bullet-proof answers are really answering the question.

In any fast-evaluated test - compensating for its non-essay nature - there will be embedded pitfalls, especially so in the multiple choices. I lost some points because I didn't know the answer, some because of terminology, even some because of differences in established practice between Europe and the United States. Those I don't mind. The ones that bug me are those that I knew the answer to, but where I got lost in the heat of the moment, in short-sightedness.

If I could go back through the written test once more, I would make sure that I answered the questions asked. Simple as that. Doing so, I would have scored even higher. Still, after 90 minutes of thrilling anxiety, I found myself passing well above the 80 pts dividing line - good to take the tuning exam the following day.

I remember reading somewhere there is a question about the difference between a frequency and a beat rate which you are supposed to answer wrong. The correct answer (which is marked as wrong) is there is no difference, both are measured in Hz which has SI units of 1/seconds. A beat rate is just a frequency which is small.

Kees

Kees,

I've heard similar stories, but in my test it was a true/false question st like "cents are the same as beats". Which shouldn't bring on too much problems

#8

Tuning exam day! The exclamation mark is describing what I felt. New day, new possibilities. The worst was over, there was only up from here

It might sound strange, but this was exactly what it felt like. Passing the written exam, I was back on my home field, tuning the piano. I met the CTE in charge of the tuning exams right before, and she asked me if I was nervous. "A little bit, of course, but I really look forward to taking the test".

As I arrived at the tuning exam office, there was a delay. That gave me a chance to see examiners and examinees entering/exiting exam rooms and walking the corridors. Maybe my music studies and my work as a professor has brainwashed me, but I felt at home, at ease - with that necessary nerve still stirring in my body.

Then I was up. Into my exam room entered not only the needed minimum of 1 CTE + RPT's, but 3 CTE's. I knew I was in for an exciting afternoon!

Introductions, form fillings, then releasing of all possible electronic devices. My Nokia (yes, I'm a finnish guy) secured in the pocket of the CTE in charge, the test could begin.

#9

First part of the tuning exam.
Task: setting A4 to the fork (or any other alternate non-visual pitch source).

I do this every day in real life, but it was different doing it when you knew it would be measured afterwards.

Hours before, I dropped by the Sanderson booth in the exhibit hall. He kindly measured my 2nd fork (the one that I do not use that much, as 442 Hz is a more common pitch source in Europe). It was 440, dead on. The whole convention taking place indoors with similar A/C, i knew I could trust my fork for the job of setting the initial A4.

What I was only partially prepared for was the pinblock of the grand piano. And no, this was not the instrument I witnessed getting a master tuning…

Still it was the same kind of brand new piano, with a very tight block. I set my A4, just to feel it swaying around. Then I did what I had to do, and raised the pitch way over (making sure the pin moved), then slightly below, then slightly up again, finally setting the pin whit a slight downward motion, to where I liked it. All of this first comparing F2 to the fork (adjusting F2 for a beat pulse I liked rhythmically), then tuning A4 to F2 for that same pulse.

I took my time. You are given 5 minutes, and I think I almost used it all. It might seem like a waste of time, but after those minutes I had a much better feel for the pinblock. And the pitch of my A4 scored 100 pts.

Good question Kees.

From official tuning exam instructions:
"For purposes of this examination, tune the high treble (C7 through B7) as clean-sounding single octaves."

The tolerance is indeed 6 cents, but you would only lose one point for a 6 cent error. You can accumulate up to 20 points for the highest 12 notes.

0.0 to 5.9 cents = no points off
6.0 to 11.9 cents = 1 point off
12.0 to 17.9 cents = 2 points off
etc.

So you can see, that even if every note of your high treble was off by 11.9 cents you would still score an 88! Only 80 is needed to pass.

Thanks for bringing this up Kees. I should add this to my tuning exam summary.

I can certainly say this is true for my own tunings. I stretch the high treble quite a lot. I doubt my style of high treble tuning would pass the tuning exam. However, when I took the exam back in '94 my style was much more conservative. If I were to take it again, I would have to reign in the high treble more than I like, but a good tuner should be able to adjust to the demands of the situation.

#10

• Second part of the tuning exam
  Task: tune temperament and mid-range center strings (C3-B4)

Ok, up for the test! All examiners left the room, took my electronic equipment with them (as in my cell phone) and then I was on.

I started setting my temperament using Bill Bremmer's ET via Marpurg, with some customization that I've almost subconsciously have started using in my everyday tuning.

First i tuned A3 from A4, with a slight slow wave coming from it being slighter wider than 4:2. Then F3 from A3, and started building the contiguous ladder F3-A3-C#4-F4-A4.

Tweaking those until they sounded logically progressing (without sudden "shifts in gear"), I tuned
my pure 5ths (3:2) and 4ths (4:3) from the anchor notes (F3, A3, C#4), and double-checked them by using RBI's.

Then I placed G3, B3 and D#4, always looking for a slightly busier upper 4th: for the 5ths/4ths close to 2-to-3 beat rates instead of equal-beating, for the single double 4th (F#3-B3-E4) just keeping the higher 4th slightly twangier.

This is where I always check for progressiveness. I have just constructed a whole-tone scale, that should be evenly progressing, so I check it out: F3-A3, G3-B3, A3-C#4, B3-D#4, C#4-F4 should have that logical acceleration as I move upwards in the whole tone scale.

And, it had - except for the first M3. F3 had shifted a bit upwards, I jerked it down a bit and moved on.

• Here is another piece of advice. Starting to move the detuning around, especially with tight pinblocks, aren't easy. They are much further apart from where they'd be during a normal tuning sessions, so you have to move them more. As a result, notes will many times strive back to where you left them. Check, and double-check.

Then putting in the other whole-tone scale was pretty easy. If the first whole-tone scale is good, this is a relaxed part of setting the temperament. I put in the other notes pretty fast (F#3-G#3-A#3-C-D-E) and went to check with fourths and fifths inside the temperament. sounded generally good. Same for ascending chromatic 3rds and 6ths

From there I extended the temperament down and up, using 4ths and 5ths, and 8's for reference. In the low third octave, I used descending 6ths, checking with 5ths and 4ths.

Then back up to the temperament, and C#4 had moved slightly. I put it back in place, had to correct F#4 and G#4. In the upper mid-range I have a tendency to stretch on the edge, so I lowered some of them during my second pass through.

Suddenly 40 minutes had past, and it was time for a verdict

First the whole section got measured, and I took a coffee break. When I came back, there was aural verification of a few notes. C#4 was asked first.

I checked it, said I thought it sharp if anything, but I couldn't get all tests to confirm that. Then one of the RPT's checked it, and when I walked away from the piano, it felt flat to me instead. 4ths sounded fine, so did the 5ths, there was the slightest of bumps in the ascending M3's, but not in the M6!

Inconclusive - to me, and to all three examiners. That C#4 was tossed out.

The other note I got asked about was the F3. I had to just hit it together with A3, hearing a way to slowly beating 3rd, to know that it had drifted sharp on me in the last 5 minutes of the test. There was nothing to discuss about that, it gave me a lost point. That was however the only flaw of the temperament, so i got a 98 pts score there.

In the midrange two of the notes above the temperament where over-optimistically stretched, probably because I always try to avoid beating 5ths in that pianistically sensitive area. The CTE in charge was surprised that these where 2-pointers, and so was I, because they didn't sound that out of the concept. But, what do you know… Anyways those took some points away, and I landed at 93 pts in the midsection (which I, now when I check the sheet, should have been 94. Well, no big deal)

• Lesson to be learned: 40 minutes might seem like a lot of time (and it is), but I think its might be a good strategy to "detune the detuning" pretty fast, so the pins have some more time to stabilize. Then run a second pass, and if possible a 3rd. The multiplication factors for penalty points are rather high in this part of the test (temperament x2.5, midrange x1.5) so it might be worth saving some knitpicking time for that 3rd fast pass.

The "play-by-play" description of your exam experience is very entertaining, Patrick! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. I'm sure that you will inspire others to challenge the exam. Knowing what to expect can really alleviate much of the stress. I'm looking forward to the next installment!

Thank you, Ryan!

#11

• Third part of the tuning exam
  Task: Tune the center strings of the bass and the treble (C1-B2 and C#4-B7)

After the temperament/mid-range evaluation, I was back to doing some work again!

This is the moment where I've heard that many examinees let go a sigh of relief, because from this on, you are allowed to tune with an ETD. Being an aural tuner, i still felt kind of the same way, because I knew that my scores in the midrange would give me a good foundation to move towards the outer ends of the piano.

After the midrange evaluation, the score sheet is left in the room. The midrange will not be scored again, though, only measured (I will get back to this later). Still, the score sheet can be of great value, because tuning aurally, any deviations in the midrange might accumulate towards the outer ends. So, the first thing to do would be to correct those deviations.

And that I did - I lowered G4 and B4 (my two-pointers from the midrange), but then I did something stupid. Or, at least potentionally stupid: I gave my entire midrange some fierce test blows.

Anybody not lost in the heat of the moment would see that this was not the time for that. Would I have been using my head a little bit more, I would just have gone on tuning. Nevertheless, my stability seems to have been good enough to forgive my bad timing.

-------------------

UP:

Moving up from the midrange, I went by my usual procedure: first section tuned by 4ths and 5ths, checking the octaves, M3-M10 and 12ths. Then, when the partials of the 4ths get too high and (soon after that) the 5ths get 'airy' and flexible, I relied on references closer to my temperament.

• When I move up, first of all I tune the 5th. Secondly, I make sure that the M3-M10 test shows a faster, or same-speed M10th. Thirdly, I check the 4:1 octave to make sure it's not narrow, and fourthly, I check that I'm not wide of a pure 12th (3:1). This almost always puts me where I want to be.

It worked well this time too, up to C7. Then I headed for problems. This stretch of mine is meant to be carried on all the way up to C8, but I had "2:1 octaves" and "clean-sounding 7th octave" buried deep in my mind.

• From around F6 i normally switch into "triad tuning" - listening to the note I tune in its function as a root, 3rd and 5th of arpeggiated triads. I didn't dare to do it here, because of the strict instructions for the 7th octave. Would I do this test again, I WOULD dare - I think me suddenly switching gears in this region produced a not-so-good high treble tuning.

I did my best to tune clean-sounding, kind of 2:1 octaves. My mind had to put restraints on my ears, and it worked well enough for the exam. Still, if I was to play that instrument in a concert, I would instinctively stay away from my 7th octave. Nothing new here, that subconscious choice is made quite often by pianists in the musical business. Still I do not expect it from my own tunings

-----------------

DOWN:

I tuned down from the midrange using 5ths and 4ths, checking with the octave, until I got past the break (I think it was at A#2). Then, from there I went by 6:3's, just using the m3-M6 test for similar beat rates, double-checking with the octave, and the 12th, all the way to C1. No problems there.

-----------------

All of this (up/down) was the 1st pass. It took way too long… I had planned for 20 min, but I used almost 40 min. What I said earlier about the midrange (a fast 1st pass, thorough 2nd pass, knit-picking 3rd pass) would have been the ideal here too, but I failed badly on my intentions.

20 minutes left, I went through the treble again - finding quite many notes to correct, and then finding my highest octave wildly off! I spent 15+ minutes smoothing everything out, then I checked the bass…

All was ok until approx. the last octave, where everything felt WAY high. I felt like the whole section had moved. With a couple of minutes left, I went by ear, no checks, listening for my preferred sound. In retro-perspective, I think I'd been better off not touching that octave at all.

EVALUATION:

Enter the examiners again, marking the start of my 2nd coffee break. The ETD reading session lasted quite long (because of the many notes), and when I returned to the room some 10 minutes after I finished my tuning I heard calls like "+35" and I thought "my God, this is the end of it".

• Somewhere in the back of my head I was able to recall that the master tuning I witnessed three days before carried some pretty wild cents readings in the high treble, but I felt uncomfortable hearing similar numbers called out in my own tuning. Even though you know that the mean is theoretical and unmusical and all (ie as in 0 cents), the ascending deviation from the mean really gets creepy when you listen to it note by note.

One single note, B6, was dubious, called out for me to evaluate. I played it solo, then with checks, and just had to say "sorry, with that strong a false beat in the string, there might be a better place to put it theoretically, but I can't find it, and frankly, it really doesn't matter."

And a false beat it was - just annoyingly slow to mess with double octaves and 12ths, making no sense of these tests. My placement of it was the most forgiving, I think, and the examiners could not decide upon in what direction it should be moved to be improved. One of them would have moved it in two different directions, relying on two different RBI checks. Tossed out. My treble (C5-B6) scored 99 pts, F#6 being a tad to low.

The evaluation calls I got in the high treble (C7-B7), I just had to humbly confirm.
No excuses. I was kind of good (-2 points) up until the last three notes, but then those three notes where all over the place, accumulating 6 penalty points together, for a total high treble score of 92 pts. I like to think that they strayed from where I put them, but I know that's only part of the truth. If I ever have to tune 2:1's again, I will have to use an ETD

Kind of the same scenario in the bass. 2nd octave "perfect" (as in within the range), but then my last octave… Well, I talked about it earlier. All the "corrections" I did in my shortage of time, using ear only, proved to be flat of the master tuning. All except the last one, C1, which was sharp enough to withdraw 1 pt.

C#1 was called out. I checked it, and there was quite a roll in the octave. D1 was perfect, according to the master tuning. I said that I liked C#1 more, and that I would never tune like D1 in real life (which is true). Still, I could of course in no way justify my last three notes (D, C#, C) being respectively 0, -3, +1 towards the master tuning. Inconsistent as it may come…

My 1st octave had 8 pts of deviation, and thus caused my bass section score (C1-B2) to land at 92 pts.

• Lesson to be learned? 1) stick to the time planning you have before you enter the exam room. In this part I failed to do a fast 1st pass, thorough 2nd pass, and knit-picking 3rd pass. Instead, I did a thorough 1st pass and a kind of desperate 2nd pass, only. 2) If you get under distress time-wise, trust the checks, not your ears. I think I would have scored much better in my 1st octave if I wouldn't have gone by ear in my two-minute rescue operation.

#12

• Fourth part of the tuning exam
  Task: Sit on nails and listen to your mid-range tuning take a beating

The stability test was up. This was the only part of the exam evaluation (as in technical ETD reading) where I was present, and probably the part where I most af all wished that I had been absent.

I like the description of the stability test in Ryan Sower's thread Summary of the tuning exam, because of his highlighting of "BANG! BANG! BANG!" in red. That is very close to the way I felt when 'the thumper' (the weight) tried its best to shift my center strings of the midrange.

• Now, backing up a bit… I told you earlier how stupid I was giving my midrange test blows before I started tuning the outer parts of the piano. The right way to do it is of course completely opposite to what I did. After you get the score sheet in your hand, treat the midrange like cotton, just use it as a reference for tuning. Then, after that, hit it with all you've got!
  
  This because your midrange will be evaluated only for two things after this point: stability, and unisons. Not for reference towards the piano's outer ends. The more you hit it -> the more stable it will become = less drift in the stability test, and firmer center string setting for the unisons (later).

I consider my normal tunings much more stable than my average encounters in the area I work, but I couldn't be sure this time, because of the pinblock. As I said earlier, it was a brand new piano, and the pinblock was very stiff, the pins very springy. With these ones, you generally need more time, and because of my reverse timing, I left the midrange "unbanged".

So, I listened to the three examiners doing their job. First, the entire midrange was measured again (NOT for scoring, but for reference). Then enter the thumper. Three bangs, then a call from the examinor reading the ETD. "That's good" most of the time, "There's a drift" for a couple of them.

I can still remember B4, because I knew that it mattered. Having two drifts up until that note, I knew that if I was going to go under 90 pts in any part, it was right here. (A drift more than 1 cent score 1 pt x 4, = 4 pts in the score sheet) BANG! BANG! BANG!, and the examinor's "That's good" sounded sooo sweet to my ears. Stability score 92 pts, heading comfortably for the last part.

• Lesson to be learned, at the risk of sounding redundant: Whatever you do, bang the midrange unisons like crazy just before you finish the previous part!

#13

• Fifth part of the tuning exam
  Task: tune unisons (= tune the left and right strings) to the center strings of C3-B4

At this part of the exam, I felt like slipping into a hot tub. What the CTE in charge said is indeed very true: "Funny - the first thing you practice is tuning the unisons, and the one thing you continue to refine and practice is tuning the unisons."

Still, I felt I was most in control during this part of the test. I only had to let go of preferences, because there are a lot of them. No listening for upper partials making a certain sound, no colors, no compensation for the uniqueness of each string. Just fundamentals not beating.

I zeroed in on the fundamentals, fought the springy pinblock with all the lever technique I could mobilize, and just enjoyed the moment.

The tolerance of the test is 1 cent. I blew one of them. Due to the springiness... of course I didn't tune it that way, the pinblock completed it for me Seriously, that unison sounded very bad played by the CTE, so I would have withdraw at least a point myself, arbitrarily.

That one point, given the x2 factor, left me with 98 pts for the unisons.

• Lesson to be learned: Do not go for any artistry at this point. If the fundamentals of the three strings are in phase with each other - if the foundation (base) of the sound is calm - you're good towards the ETD reading.

#14

• Reflections

Just like my return flight from Las Vegas didn't offer a row #13, I feel I have to wrap this up in a less superstitious way by adding this post, #14.

My tuning exam was a good experience. It was hands on, I felt it was fair towards me, and I enjoyed proving what I'm capable of.

• Funny, writing this I feel like I'm bragging. The culture I grew up in is infamous for something called the Jante Law. Still - as European as I am - my years living in the U.S.A. (1994-98) has thought me that anything is possible. Even deciding to tune your own piano, if there's not people around able to do it for you.

The PTG tuning exam was the first time ever that I saw my tuning measured mathematically. I didn't do any pre-measuring of any sorts. I have surfed, steered and fought the piano towards a decent tuning for about three years, getting better at it all the time. Needless to say, I'm far from perfect (I actually cherish that imperfection quite a lot, finding joy in my baby steps forwards).

I got touched by the devotion and care put into the master tuning that I witnessed a few days prior to my exam. I felt that the team did everything to give me and others a fair trial. I encountered that same atmosphere during my own exam - the examiners supporting me to do my best, and they measuring my efforts as fairly as possible.

This might be why I never felt like I was competing - I just presented. This is far from the fierce jury of bygone days, the one I've grown up with and sworn to never be a part of in my own professional life.

As for the future, I'm heading for the technical exam. I need some time preparing for that, but I have a great mentor. Scoring 90+ aurally in every part of the tuning exam, qualifying for training towards becoming a CTE, I seriously consider just that. But there's a time and a place for everything. Traveling upright hammer shanks would be my next step

I hope that you readers of this thread has found these reflections useful. If my writings trigger questions or comments, I will be happy to answer and reply here, or in PM's.

Patrick,
Thank you for taking all the time to recount your thoughts and experiences regarding the PTG tuning exam, et al.

It's been great reading.

Very much appreciated!

Glen