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There seems to be free (as in beer) piano tuning software available at sourceforge.

I have not used it on a piano yet, so I do not know the quality.

If anyone else is interested in experimenting, here is the link:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/ultratune/?source=dlp

Note: I installed this on my netbook. After installation, I had error messages about Microsoft.DirectX.directsound

I updated my system and updated DirectX. It seems to be working.

Edit: To start the program in v0.2.0 this is the path:

UltraTune.v0.2.0 > UltraTune > bin > Release > UltraTune.v0.2.0 > UltraTune.v0.2

You may get a prompt asking for permission to unzip other files.

Also, I do get some error messages. Of course, this is only v0.2

Edit: It had to happen. Sooner or later someone would come up with a freeware version of piano tuning software including stretch.

Thanks for posting this link. I've been looking for something like this to try out my crazy theories for a while.

Too bad it's written in M$C# which I don't know very well.

Kees

Hi Kees,

I only had some Java and some C++.Net courses. I need lots and lots of comments The project seems to be GPL'ed, which is awesome!

Now if I could just find GNU/Linux piano tuning software, I'd be walking on air

Of course if this works out, I may have to just use software for pitch raises, and then go back to aural only for fine tuning in order to justify my existence LOL!

-Joe

Edit: In fact, I think I'll be editing my web-site in the next few days...

Since this has been and is inevitable, soon anyone will be able to download advanced piano tuning software for no cost.

I'm going to get out ahead of this, since it's obvious what's coming. I am changing my approach to using software just for pitch raises and setting UTs. All final passes will be made by ear... old school.

Besides, as I noticed in my "Experiment" thread, there are times when I need to use my ear anyhow. I'll start representing the lineage of the particular training I received years ago, rather than a more generic tuning style that an ETD gives. Maybe this is a good thing ultimately.

Then, I'll record the variations from the machine-generated placements for the A's. That way, I can still monitor for any undue changes that will act as a warning that the piano could be developing problems.

Took a look....that spinner looks like an exact copy of the Veritner Ipad spinner?!

Yes, it does. And the lower display looks a lot like TuneLab.

It will be interesting to see if this gets used by pianist in the future to tune their own piano. Could mean a lot of extra repair work in the future(especially replacing broken strings). I wonder if Verituner/Cybertuner/Tunelab will end up doing something different to stay competitive.

I also wonder if developments like this will create the demand that will lead piano manufacturers to begin designing pianos that are simpler for the layperson to tune.

There doesn't seem to be any controls... I see it displaying an iH number when I sing, I'll have to go play with a real piano sometime.

Off to find a link for a user guide.

Hope the developer of this UltraTune software doesn't get sued by Verituner and/or TuneLab for what could appear to be copyright infringement - that is, copying the software interface design.

There have been many big lawsuits about copying Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) in the past, such as this famous one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Computer,_Inc._v._Microsoft_Corporation

If the developer is reading this:

I would recommend changing the interface to make it more distinct from those other products. Verituner/Tunelab/et al. will already have a strong desire to sue and remove this free substitute product from the market. If they think the GUI is a copy of their products, then they will have a basis for a lawsuit as well.

It's only version 0.2.0. Improvements are probably on their way.

I don't think so. From my experience with pianists (and I have been a pianist much longer than I've been a piano technician), 90% do not care much at all about the mechanics of their instruments, and do not want to be bothered with fixing or tuning it themselves. Much like vehicle owners - probably 90% of whom don't know/care enough about the mechanics of their car to fix it or do routine maintenance themselves. That's not an insult to anyone's intelligence - it's just a matter of time and priorities.

Tuning an acoustic piano will always be a difficult and time-consuming task - especially for the inexperienced. New tools and software may make the job possible for more people, but it will not make it that much easier or faster. The piano owners that will play around with this software will probably be mostly the same people that tinker around with their piano anyway - because it interests them.

I have tried 5 times to download this and run it on both my netbook and desktop. Netbook is windows 7 64 bit, desktop win 7 32 bit. BOTH ran into 'unexpected error' and would not unpack. What am I doing wrong?

That's odd. It's just a zip file. I had no problems.

Edit: Maybe the file got messed up when it was downloaded. You could try deleting the zip file you have, and the downloading it again.

I have the same problem. tried several times to run file. Got the same error. I have latest windows updates.

Good old XP!

Ther is a new version available:

v0.2.1

Another new version, v0.2.3 is available, with better bass note detection.

It appears to me to be Beta so I'll keep playing with it.

Ultratune Version v0.2.4 just got posted:



It looks like the author changed the interface a bit so it looks less like Verituner now. Probably a good thing from a legal standpoint.



One feature request I would have (if the developer is reading this) is support for non-standard ("offset") tunings. In TuneLab, you can set the base offset to, say, -100 cents, so that you can tune a piano a semi-tone low. Or -50 cents, for a quarter-tone low, or -19.78 cents so A5=435hz instead of 440hz if you are tuning a victorian piano. Setting a base offset changes the entire tuning so that all notes are now targeting the new frequencies. TuneLab also has a single-note offset setting if you want to just change the tuning target of one note.

Since this software is being discussed here I figured that I'd make an account here as well. I am the developer of this software.

While I do not have a lot of experience in piano tuning, I do have considerable knowledge about signal processing and programming, as well as the physics of strings that cause their inharmonicity. I try to read as much as possible about how experienced tuners create the stretch in a piano -- but I might have some questions in the future, so it is nice that I found this forum.

The features you are requesting will eventually come (especially needed are pitch calibration/offset tunings and manual adjustment of the stretch). However, I want to make the pitch detection more accurate first, before I do anything else -- I want to get this down to sub-cent accuracy. Currently the accuracy is ~1 ct at A440, which is about 0.2 Hz. Tuning with this accuracy would be very close, but would prevent you from attaining a perfect tuning.

I have found a possible solution to it but the mathematics are really complex -- I'll have to figure those out first. (For those who are interested and learned in the subject, I want to try windowing the frequency domain information around specific peaks/partials, then find the center of gravity of the peak to determine the actual frequency. Right now I just choose the frequency with the highest magnitude. I'm still figuring out how I should process the phase information.)

The interface has indeed been changed due to possible copyright claims, and the old interface has been made unavailable. As for patents: this is a difficult matter. There are several US patents claiming different inventions relating to note detection and tuning systems, but there is some doubt about the value of these patents since many of their claims are trivial or non-original. VeriTuner, Inc. is already claiming infringement, but I am myself not concerned with the effects of US Patents since I do not live in the US -- any users or distributors (including SourceForge) located in the US may be -- we'll see how that turns out.