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Tuned five today. Four of them were between three churches. The last one was a private residence; a late 70's Winter console that was last tuned in '89. Had to raise that one around 75 cents.

Tuned the night club piano that I have been tuning for about 30 years. I talked to one of the few employees who has been going there longer than I. I tuned it not to long ago, so it just needed a bit of touch-up, but I decided to touch-up the voicing as well, which got me to finally tightening up the capstans that were loose. I wrote down which they were, but I could find them because I could turn them with my fingers.

At my first appointment today, I successfully spliced a wound string in the speaking length on a Yamaha U1 that is used by professional string players. The string had broken during routine playing and therefore broke at the termination point.

This kind of repair has often come into question about whether it can be done successfully. I have done it many times in the past. The key to having the repaired string match the other unison string in tone is that about 1/4 inch of winding must be removed. The extra mass of the knot perfectly compensates for the loss of winding. The removal of the winding is necessary to make the knot. The end of the winding that was shortened should be crimped against the core wire swage.

The first loop in the the remnant must be made extra large in order for it to pass over the portion of the string with a winding. That accounts for the small extra spur seen in the photo below. That spur could have been clipped off after tension was applied to the string but that would have required loosening the string after pulling it to proper tension and that is a risk in itself, so it was not taken.

The result was a repair that is stable upon completion with two full coils and a small hook to prevent any beckett slippage. The tone of the repaired string matches perfectly with the other unison. This is a permanent repair unless someone decides at a later point to replace the repaired string with all of the consequences of doing that.

Here is a cellphone photo of the repaired string:



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Later in the day, I had the pleasure of meeting a local composer who wanted me to tune his Mason & Hamlin model A piano in 1/4 Comma Meantone Temperament. I happily obliged but ran out of time to really perfect it before I had to go tune two other pianos. I returned later to finish a completely aural 1/4 Comma Meantone tuning and had a long discussion with the composer after many musical examples were played.

I believe this to be a sign of what some people have always predicted: an eventual return to the temperament that had prevailed longer than any other in music history. This composer writes film soundtrack type music and delights in the contrasts that occur between complete consonance and stark dissonance. I listened for another few hours as he played and delighted in in the sheer power that his piano now had in contrasting harmony.

Madison, Wisconsin has long been the home for such music innovation and I am glad I live here to be a technician that can serve it.

I'd be interested how you extended the temperament octave.
Did you preserve the perfect M3's?

Kees

Bill,

Congratulations on the splice. To my mind, one option for removal of the long spur under tension would be to cut it off using a miniature cutting disc on a Dremel tool. Those discs, if handled properly (*), make very neat cuts! And a Dremel tool (with diverse tips and attachments in a small carry case) is neither a bank-breaker, nor is it too bulky to carry. It can come in handy for cutting, grinding, polishing, etc. - for example, I've used mine for polishing damper spoons using a miniature felt buffing wheel, which worked really well: it was fast (I'm a slow worker, and even I had 67 spotless spoons after 20 minutes), easy, and mess-free, because it wasn't necessary to use any polishing compound. Just a quick vacuum afterwards, to remove the white felt dust.

2 cents...

* "Steady hand, no pressure, lotsa revs."

Thanks for the idea, Mark. I do have a Dremel tool but it never occurred to me to use it for that.

Kees,

I used the method that has been discussed on here which Bernhard Stopper uses and Patrick calls the "Harvey Chord". That is, to play simultaneously the octave, 4th and 5th below the note being tuned and find the "sweet spot" where beating is minimized.

This works up to or about F5 after which time only the octave and octave-5th need be played. Obviously, the exception is with the "wolf" 5th. For the intervals where the M3 is pure, a variation of the "Harvey Chord" can be used. A minor triad in second inversion an octave below the note being tuned is played. For example, to tune G5, play G3, C4 and E-flat 4 together. G5 will sound best when the beating is minimized between all notes. You can't really hear whether a M3 is pure or not into the 5th octave and beyond but the M10's remain pure.

Ironically, the same basic method used for extending the octaves in ET or any other temperament worked for 1/4 Meantone. The extra tempering of the fifths prevented me from making the octaves as wide as I usually do.

The piano took on a completely different character which was a shock both to my ears and the composer's at first but in very little time, we both grew accustomed to the sound. He started out playing some J.S. Bach Partitas. The odd intervals sounded "twisted" to me at first, like the distorted images of a Salvador Dali painting.

None of those pieces were written in the remote keys but they did hit on many of the peculiar sounding small minor thirds. We discussed whether this material had been part of what Bach had customarily played in Meantone or whether it would have been what he used later with a Well Temperament. It works either way but of course, the effect is quite different in Meantone. Both of us quickly became accustomed to that sound and found it appealing. Somehow, it just seemed "right" in its own way.

It was interesting to me to note that a composer who writes mostly avant-guard, dissonant type, ambient sounding, film soundtrack mood type music often studies J.S. Bach. Another such composer who lives in Madison does likewise.

I had a couple of hours, one on one with LaRoy Edwards today...:)

4 tunings, one of them a pitch raise. Also had to tie a bass string and do some Dampp-Chaser maintenance. All in all a good day.

I tuned a "Steinway" .....at least the fallboard said "Steinway". Too bad the plate said "Winter Musette".

We hosted some of the city-wide choral competitions today. I went over the SF 10 onstage and the 6' Baldwin in the choir room before anyone got there. Then I got to sit in the auditorium and listen to many different levels of choirs. (and a chance to evaluate the piano too!)

Gotta make time for some extra voicing on the stage piano soon... It is so valuable to hear the piano away from the bench, with an audience in the seats.

Ron Koval

Ron, how did it all turn out with your working situation - are you ok as of now?

Thanks for remembering - went back full time late November. A lot of scrambling to catch up on all the undone fall work!

Ron Koval

I had an accidental fall yesterday and managed to re-injure my right rotator cuff! This is a serious impairment for me. I will have to determine today how much I can do and what I cannot do from now on. Since I had a previous such injury, it is not likely that it can ever recover.

Bill:

So very sorry to hear this! Ouch! Wish I could do something for you.

Geez Bill, that's terrible! Hope you're feeling better soon.

Thanks for the messages, Jeff and Loren. I still managed to tune 3 pianos today. My arm felt better after a while. It is clear that I injured the shoulder and the rotator cuff but I don't think, at least at this point that I tore it completely.

I learned from past experience that even with a completely torn rotator cuff, I could get around the problem so those techniques kicked in immediately. The deltoid muscle can take over. However, I simply tried not to use my right arm the way I did when I had the injury in June of 2000 and again after surgery nearly a year later. I did not have the option, as a self employed person to simply take 6 months to recover. I had to keep working.

At this point, I don't believe I tore the rotator cuff completely but it is clear that I injured it. Insurance considers that as a "pre- existing condition" and will not cover a new injury. I just have to wait and see if I can have use of the rotator cuff after I give it time to heal.

My fore arm and hand work normally. I tried to tune just one string with my left hand and quickly gave up on that. I am a right handed person, so I could no more tune a piano with my left hand than I could write a paragraph or even sign my name with my left hand. I can and did, however use my left hand for the many reaching tasks that are involved in tuning. I can use my right hand and fore arm normally if I can brace my elbow or keep my elbow against my torso.

The alternative techniques eat up time and the whole experience is tiring, so I came home after three tunings and called in sick to music rehearsal this afternoon. We are doing Mendelssohn's "Elijah" April 30 and May 1. Today was to be the first rehearsal with orchestra. This will be my 5th time singing this oratorio, so I already know the music practically by memory. I did not audition this time to be a soloist, having done so in past years. My voice is changing from Tenor to Baritone, so I skipped trying to compete for any solo parts this time to allow others who are well qualified to have a chance.

Jeff, I especially appreciate you compassion and sympathy at this time. I am looking forward to doing what I can, even if I only have half a right arm that works.

Watch this You Tube video of a conductor who has two healthy rotator cuffs! When I see it, the first thing I think of is how easily the conductor could rip both of them!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkOiKy6sXfM

You may also like the heavy brass instruments which are not usually included in an orchestra, let alone the orchestra pit for an opera.

Interesting video!

I like the remarks at the end:

[Conductor]"Ja, 's ist schon... also näher!"
[Stage/recording director] "Kurze Pause."

"Yes, it's already... well, closer."
"A short break."

Oh Bill.... what a pain! I've got a partial tear in my right rotator, but with some exercises have been able to remain functional. Lefty IS hard to learn, especially for "mature" techs! Hang in there, be creative and hopefully you can adapt to this challenge.

Ron Koval

So Bill, hows the shoulder doing?

Yesterday worked on a older Bechstein and then a Henry Miller...quite the range. lol

Bill,

Very sorry to hear of your injury...Wishing you a complete recovery...

I am right-handed and have never been what I would consider ambidexterous, but last summer I was inspired to learn how to tune grands left-handed in the high treble, as I observed this technique done by Ori Bukai, the owner of the Allegro Piano stores in Stamford, CT and NYC. I'm sure there a fair number of techs that can do this, but it is not commonplace.

I practiced this new technique on four or five grands a day, several days a week, until I didn't have to think about it anymore and it became second nature. That probably took about 3 months, but I was getting decent results within a week or two.

There are several advantages to mastering this technique; one of which is that in a piano store, the grands are often lined up next to each other and there is usually no room to stand to the side of the piano at the high treble. The tech can also remain seated for the entire grand tuning. Another advantage is that I've found I can use a shorter extension and a head with a more horizontal angle (I use a custom Charles Faulk 12" lever with a 5-degree head and only a 1/2 inch extension) and now I never have to think about clearing plate struts at any point on the piano - even grands that have tall struts like the Bluthner models. Yet another advantage is that you give your striking hand some rest for about 1/4 of the tuning.

I still haven't worked on tuning verticals left-handed but I'm sure it is doable with practice. I also recall some techs that post here that can tune verticals with either hand. It may be easier to learn this technique on grands when sitting as you use the stretcher as an arm support to pivot, although the impact lever might work for you left-handed on verticals.

If you decide to try it, just be very patient with yourself, and before long it might be as easy as tuning right-handed. It felt completely alien at first, but my effort paid off...Good luck!