Recently I have decided to teach a new method to my students. I would like the opportunity to briefly describe it, and field any specific questions about it, here on PW.
If you would like to know more about any one element, please let me know.
I call it Advanced Techniques for Beginners.
It is advanced because it can produce highly accurate tunings when used by an experienced tech, but it also demands a lot from beginners, so they are forced to develop skills where they are needed most, unisons and stability.
Elements of the Method.
1. Double String Unison (DSU)
We adjust notes by muting single strings of a trichord, and cleaning up the DSU. Then assessing whether the DSU is too high or too low. Then one of the DSU strings is detuned in the direction desired, and the other string is adjusted to produce a clean DSU again. Re-assessing and re-adjusting are performed until the DSU produces the best note possible, based on the ear of the tuner. Then the third string (if tuning a trichord) is tuned to the DSU, thereby creating a clean trichord unison.
This is called Indirect Tuning (listening, adjusting, then listening again) as opposed to Direct Tuning (Listening and adjusting at the same time.) Indirect Tuning is more accurate especially when used with the bisecting window technique which demands much more accuracy than Direct Tuning does, IMHO.
Detuning the DSU allows the tuner to have their finger on the pulse of how pitch is affected by hammer forces. Listening directly to an octave does not give good feedback, because there is quite a large window where the octave sounds ok. I.e. you can actually change the pitch of an octave note, and not hear a change in the sound of the octave.
When tuning unisons clean, the tuner can receive much more sensitive feedback from hammer forces, because any small change in pitch of one DSU string, can change a dead-on unison to a swelling, sustaining unison, for example. And in fact, that's how we use it to make ultra fine changes in string pitch. Some technicians refer to this as shimming. For larger changes in pitch, we use Beat Matching, which can be very accurate by itself, sometimes producing an accurate note that was very out of tune, in one pass.
2. Slow Pull, and other hammer techniques
Tuners can predict how the pitch will respond to hammer forces and produce very small changes in pitch, when they understand how forces, friction, and elastic deformation affect the pitch of the string.
3. A Bisecting Window Temperament Sequence.
Continuing the power of the Contiguous Major Thirds method of starting the temperament, bisecting windows allow the tuner to continue to develop their ability to hear small changes in beat speeds, (beat speed difference sensitivity), while producing highly accurate pitches early on, even more accurate than CM3's. The sequence runs parallel to slow beating intervals, like P4 and P5, so tuners who like using those, can also follow their progress.
Final refinement of any temperament relies on a tuner's beat speed difference sensitivity. The bisecting window temperament sequence engages the tuner early on and forces them to continually reach inside the sound of the intervals to be able to discern their colour differences more easily. Refinement becomes much more easy because there's less needed and the ear is already tuned to hear small beat speed differences..
4. P4 and P5 windows.
I have never had the experience of tuning a SBI like an octave, 12th, or 22nd by ear, then using check notes and partials to place the interval within a given window, and then listened to the interval itself, and found the interval to sound worse. I.e. I have always been able to improve the quality of a SBI using beat speed windows, when the interval size falls outside a given window. In my experience, partials and check notes are an excellent way to tune larger SBI like octaves, 12ths and triple octaves accurately, and more precisely. P4 and P5 windows help the tuner tune accurate and precise treble notes because the windows are so small.
I will elaborate on any area of the method that people are interested in. I'm not holding anything back, but I won't go too deeply in any one post, to keep them from getting to boring, or from getting away from the specific poster's interest.
Therefore, the more questions people ask; the more detail I will be able to give.
