2022 our 25th year online!

Welcome to the Piano World Piano Forums
Over 3 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments.
Over 100,000 members from around the world.
Join the World's Largest Community of Piano Lovers (it's free)
It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

SEARCH
Piano Forums & Piano World
(ad)
Who's Online Now
46 members (1200s, clothearednincompo, akse0435, busa, Doug M., 36251, Davidnewmind, Dfrankjazz, brdwyguy, 6 invisible), 1,207 guests, and 255 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Page 2 of 5 1 2 3 4 5
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,087
M
3000 Post Club Member
OP Offline
3000 Post Club Member
M
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,087
Originally Posted by Herr Weiss
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
Way too much hostility here. I think some of you need to reread the forum rules again.


You are just experiencing a bit of tough love.


I am inspired by your signature. Thanks.

Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,740
1000 Post Club Member
Offline
1000 Post Club Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,740
Sorry about that. To each his own.

Last edited by accordeur; 07/30/15 12:22 AM. Reason: was just ranting

Jean Poulin

Musician, Tuner and Technician

www.actionpiano.ca
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 717
P
500 Post Club Member
Online Content
500 Post Club Member
P
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 717
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
Originally Posted by pyropaul
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
Way too much hostility here. I think some of you need to reread the forum rules again.


No-one is being hostile. You solicited feedback and were told that your unisons are not up to the task at hand. That's all.



I disagree and I've told you why. If you can counter my argument then do so. If you can't hear RBI from rolling unisons, you need to improve your ear because if you can't hear RBI beats from rolling unisons, you can't hear RBI beats. Maybe that's it. But you did listen to the filtered intervals, no? That sound, the sound of a clean beat, that's what I hear without the filtering. You see why I sense hostility? Maybe it's just frustration.


Of course I can hear the beats, I don't need a bandpass filter for that. But I wonder if the reason you don't demonstrate clean unisons is because you have trouble tuning them? If I'm giving a demonstration of something, I want it to be the best it possibly can be - not so easy "live", but you have all the time you want to produce clean recordings. Listen to what Grandpianoman posts - if you can do a similar quality, it would make your message much more powerful. You have a tendency to be very defensive - that's not a positive trait in a teacher (I know what it's like - I was a prof in a university for a while and have taught hundreds of courses professionally - you just have to have a thick skin and be, well, professional).

You tout your double open string technique - lets hear a demonstration of how good it can be. Then you'll bolster your credibility.

Paul.

Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 9,230
O
9000 Post Club Member
Offline
9000 Post Club Member
O
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 9,230
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
I tune double string unisons. I never listen to single strings so I never have them to record. Muting the piano after tuning could shift pitches up to 2 cents due to Weinreich.

I recorded this during an actual tuning, no fudging to make myself look better. I finished the temperament in one pass and thought, "Hmmm, sounds pretty good. Maybe I'll record it and measure it." I did this once before and it didn't come out as even, but I've been focusing on beat speed differences for a while now and believe my precision is improving. I got down to 1% on my beat speed difference test today.

However, for analysis, I require candidates to provide single string recordings.

Does the blooming impede your judgement of the progressions? And what about the presentation method? Do you think it would be useful as a tool for beginners or those wishing to improve their aural skills?



Marc I I'll not say about beat speed, if you measured them no reason not to trust you, but the unison have no attack, that make those beat sound unfocused.
Intervals must sound firm, "rooted", solid, this is mostly due to a good attack and projection tone, partially due to voicing,(that "show you the way" but if the voicing is 'not ideal, strings and hammers are old, you still can tune a strong attack by playing strong enough to have the "body " of the tone appearing. (only above a certain level, you feel at this time the energy in the keys).

I wonder if you confuse blooming and enveloppe building.

Anyway my opinion with the way you tube double open strings is that you're too much moving the pins back and forth, it cannot allow the optimal result which is :

All pins torqued similarly. (I leave to you the maths for mechanics with more or less long NSL, it may certainly be true, but I only can obtain firm and stable tone by tuning high only and from an evened tension, hence the repeated playing until I feel the string do not move anymore)

Just if you had more torqued pins, your partials would moan less.

I am suspecting you are so much focusing on beats, That it make loose a little the necessary point of view from a little farther.

Certainly the equality relation between different interval beat speed can be used, may be by being used to recognize their events. But then you should be capable of playing both intervals together, as they are supposed to beat the same.
And notice if the result is sounding solid or no.

Regards

Please accept that I'm not criticizing for pleasure, just trying to say something useful.

Even on a mediocre instrument, intervals and chords should sound "rooted", solid, name escape me for that concept.

A friend check the F3F4 ladder by playing all notes together, for instance.
Any interval, harmonious or no, will sound thick and robust with good unison.

Tuning with only one mute, or with the sustain pedal engaged, hides the meaning if the robustness of tone is not apprehended.

The tuned attack will generate clean beats, too may be not as stable in speed as expected, but ringing clear.


Last edited by Olek; 07/30/15 06:24 AM.

Professional of the profession.
Foo Foo specialist
I wish to add some kind and sensitive phrase but nothing comes to mind.!
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 2,571
R
rXd Offline
2000 Post Club Member
Offline
2000 Post Club Member
R
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 2,571
This use of the word "bloom". These unisons might be perceived as bloom in some seats of some auditoria. but when close miked or heard up close, it is simply a whine. I'm not too sure a pianist appreciates excessive movement in a unison, particularly when playing under the direction of a conductor or in an otherwise collaborative rôle where waiting for the tone to develop is not an option.

A competent pianist can produce a tone that blooms by skilful timing of the sustain pedal, mostly including the shift pedal that throws the unstruck string out of phase, sometimes producing a deceptively huge sound in the right hands. This is often only available in the finest of pianos. A well set up NY does this really well, live

When my contract calls for "Tune and attend", a common request here for which triple tuning is charged, I will have the management find me an aisle seat on the right of the auditorium as we face the stage and towards the back. These are usually available since most piano audiences like to see the keyboard close up. I am often offered the seat of a professional critic who is not attending but they sit too far toward the front for my taste.

From here I can see the rear protrusion of the pedals on most pianos and all I have to do us look up when I hear a certain sound and see immediately how the pedals are being used.

I recommend regularly attending professional concerts to help complete the education of a tuner. Most managements would be delighted to offer their tuner a free seat if you ask. All states have a university or two with a music department giving regular concerts, mostly without charge. It's well worth the trouble. I hav travelled more than a couple of hundred miles to hear a legend in a certain concert hall, whether I'm paid or not although one of my ID cards will often secure me a free seat.
It is useful and enlightening to hear your own tuning/voicing as well as that of others from the vantage point of a listener particularly when played by a fine pianist.
What else could we possibly be aiming for??


Amanda Reckonwith
Concert & Recording tuner-tech, London, England.
"in theory, practice and theory are the same thing. In practice, they're not." - Lawrence P. 'Yogi' Berra.


Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,087
M
3000 Post Club Member
OP Offline
3000 Post Club Member
M
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,087
Originally Posted by pyropaul
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
Originally Posted by pyropaul
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
Way too much hostility here. I think some of you need to reread the forum rules again.


No-one is being hostile. You solicited feedback and were told that your unisons are not up to the task at hand. That's all.



I disagree and I've told you why. If you can counter my argument then do so. If you can't hear RBI from rolling unisons, you need to improve your ear because if you can't hear RBI beats from rolling unisons, you can't hear RBI beats. Maybe that's it. But you did listen to the filtered intervals, no? That sound, the sound of a clean beat, that's what I hear without the filtering. You see why I sense hostility? Maybe it's just frustration.


Of course I can hear the beats, I don't need a bandpass filter for that. But I wonder if the reason you don't demonstrate clean unisons is because you have trouble tuning them? If I'm giving a demonstration of something, I want it to be the best it possibly can be - not so easy "live", but you have all the time you want to produce clean recordings. Listen to what Grandpianoman posts - if you can do a similar quality, it would make your message much more powerful. You have a tendency to be very defensive - that's not a positive trait in a teacher (I know what it's like - I was a prof in a university for a while and have taught hundreds of courses professionally - you just have to have a thick skin and be, well, professional).

You tout your double open string technique - lets hear a demonstration of how good it can be. Then you'll bolster your credibility.

Paul.

DSU took me two years to develop. You can see a video on my website but people have already criticized it.

Nobody had to convince me of its benefits. I understood right away the power of it.

As far as thin skin goes, you are misreading me. Negative, nonconstructive comments on this forum don't mean anything to me. I try to politely continue a presence for the 90% of people who just read these posts, and for the valuable constructive comments I receive.

Your request to demonstrate DSU is an example of a negative nonconstructive comment because 1) I've already done that. If you've visited my site, you see that plus multiple articles explaining its benefits and uses, and 2) it's a moot point to the subject of this thread.

Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,087
M
3000 Post Club Member
OP Offline
3000 Post Club Member
M
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,087
Originally Posted by Olek
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
I tune double string unisons. I never listen to single strings so I never have them to record. Muting the piano after tuning could shift pitches up to 2 cents due to Weinreich.

I recorded this during an actual tuning, no fudging to make myself look better. I finished the temperament in one pass and thought, "Hmmm, sounds pretty good. Maybe I'll record it and measure it." I did this once before and it didn't come out as even, but I've been focusing on beat speed differences for a while now and believe my precision is improving. I got down to 1% on my beat speed difference test today.

However, for analysis, I require candidates to provide single string recordings.

Does the blooming impede your judgement of the progressions? And what about the presentation method? Do you think it would be useful as a tool for beginners or those wishing to improve their aural skills?



Marc I I'll not say about beat speed, if you measured them no reason not to trust you, but the unison have no attack, that make those beat sound unfocused.
Intervals must sound firm, "rooted", solid, this is mostly due to a good attack and projection tone, partially due to voicing,(that "show you the way" but if the voicing is 'not ideal, strings and hammers are old, you still can tune a strong attack by playing strong enough to have the "body " of the tone appearing. (only above a certain level, you feel at this time the energy in the keys).

I wonder if you confuse blooming and enveloppe building.

Anyway my opinion with the way you tube double open strings is that you're too much moving the pins back and forth, it cannot allow the optimal result which is :

All pins torqued similarly. (I leave to you the maths for mechanics with more or less long NSL, it may certainly be true, but I only can obtain firm and stable tone by tuning high only and from an evened tension, hence the repeated playing until I feel the string do not move anymore)

Just if you had more torqued pins, your partials would moan less.

I am suspecting you are so much focusing on beats, That it make loose a little the necessary point of view from a little farther.

Certainly the equality relation between different interval beat speed can be used, may be by being used to recognize their events. But then you should be capable of playing both intervals together, as they are supposed to beat the same.
And notice if the result is sounding solid or no.

Regards

Please accept that I'm not criticizing for pleasure, just trying to say something useful.

Even on a mediocre instrument, intervals and chords should sound "rooted", solid, name escape me for that concept.

A friend check the F3F4 ladder by playing all notes together, for instance.
Any interval, harmonious or no, will sound thick and robust with good unison.

Tuning with only one mute, or with the sustain pedal engaged, hides the meaning if the robustness of tone is not apprehended.

The tuned attack will generate clean beats, too may be not as stable in speed as expected, but ringing clear.



I am interested in tuning the attack, but I find that when I tune the attack strong, the body of the sustain is weak or wavering. Comments?

Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,087
M
3000 Post Club Member
OP Offline
3000 Post Club Member
M
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,087
Originally Posted by rXd
This use of the word "bloom". These unisons might be perceived as bloom in some seats of some auditoria. but when close miked or heard up close, it is simply a whine. I'm not too sure a pianist appreciates excessive movement in a unison, particularly when playing under the direction of a conductor or in an otherwise collaborative rôle where waiting for the tone to develop is not an option.

A competent pianist can produce a tone that blooms by skilful timing of the sustain pedal, mostly including the shift pedal that throws the unstruck string out of phase, sometimes producing a deceptively huge sound in the right hands. This is often only available in the finest of pianos. A well set up NY does this really well, live

When my contract calls for "Tune and attend", a common request here for which triple tuning is charged, I will have the management find me an aisle seat on the right of the auditorium as we face the stage and towards the back. These are usually available since most piano audiences like to see the keyboard close up. I am often offered the seat of a professional critic who is not attending but they sit too far toward the front for my taste.

From here I can see the rear protrusion of the pedals on most pianos and all I have to do us look up when I hear a certain sound and see immediately how the pedals are being used.

I recommend regularly attending professional concerts to help complete the education of a tuner. Most managements would be delighted to offer their tuner a free seat if you ask. All states have a university or two with a music department giving regular concerts, mostly without charge. It's well worth the trouble. I hav travelled more than a couple of hundred miles to hear a legend in a certain concert hall, whether I'm paid or not although one of my ID cards will often secure me a free seat.
It is useful and enlightening to hear your own tuning/voicing as well as that of others from the vantage point of a listener particularly when played by a fine pianist.
What else could we possibly be aiming for??


Agreed. The recent concert in Denver showed me the possible beauty of blooming unisons on a well voiced piano.

But let's not forget the essence of this thread - Simple objective methods for beginner/intermediate tuners.

Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 315
C
Full Member
Offline
Full Member
C
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 315
Mark,

Imagine you're a beginning piano tuning student trying to learn temperament. You experience the frustration of trying to hear beats in an octave, a fourth, a fifth, and thirds and sixths. The frustration of just getting through the 13 notes only to find that none of the beat speeds is progressive. You've even got some intervals wrong-sided. Add to that you're struggling with your stability because your arm doesn't yet understand the fine motor skills necessary to keep everything in place. Add to that you're practicing on junk instruments or anything you can find...

And along comes your piano tuning instructor who says you should master unisons simultaneously. By the way, it only takes two years. My guess is the beginning piano tuner is not going to appreciate the "power of it" quite like you do.


Chris Storch
Acoustician / Piano Technician
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 717
P
500 Post Club Member
Online Content
500 Post Club Member
P
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 717
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
Originally Posted by pyropaul
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
Originally Posted by pyropaul
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
Way too much hostility here. I think some of you need to reread the forum rules again.


No-one is being hostile. You solicited feedback and were told that your unisons are not up to the task at hand. That's all.



I disagree and I've told you why. If you can counter my argument then do so. If you can't hear RBI from rolling unisons, you need to improve your ear because if you can't hear RBI beats from rolling unisons, you can't hear RBI beats. Maybe that's it. But you did listen to the filtered intervals, no? That sound, the sound of a clean beat, that's what I hear without the filtering. You see why I sense hostility? Maybe it's just frustration.


Of course I can hear the beats, I don't need a bandpass filter for that. But I wonder if the reason you don't demonstrate clean unisons is because you have trouble tuning them? If I'm giving a demonstration of something, I want it to be the best it possibly can be - not so easy "live", but you have all the time you want to produce clean recordings. Listen to what Grandpianoman posts - if you can do a similar quality, it would make your message much more powerful. You have a tendency to be very defensive - that's not a positive trait in a teacher (I know what it's like - I was a prof in a university for a while and have taught hundreds of courses professionally - you just have to have a thick skin and be, well, professional).

You tout your double open string technique - lets hear a demonstration of how good it can be. Then you'll bolster your credibility.

Paul.

DSU took me two years to develop. You can see a video on my website but people have already criticized it.

Nobody had to convince me of its benefits. I understood right away the power of it.

As far as thin skin goes, you are misreading me. Negative, nonconstructive comments on this forum don't mean anything to me. I try to politely continue a presence for the 90% of people who just read these posts, and for the valuable constructive comments I receive.

Your request to demonstrate DSU is an example of a negative nonconstructive comment because 1) I've already done that. If you've visited my site, you see that plus multiple articles explaining its benefits and uses, and 2) it's a moot point to the subject of this thread.


I've been to your site many times and have taken part in your quizzes on various topics. The best unisons were on the octave quiz, but I don't recall anywhere where you have audio examples of a full temperament, except for the recent one, where even you admit there is rolling.

Others have said that, in their opinion, it's not a moot point. This is negative constructive criticism, but your natural reaction is to attack and effectively say that you're right and others are missing the point. You do this in many of your posts, by the way. I already said that, in my opinion, your techniques will have more credibility if the examples you post of their application are exemplary - but even you have agreed they're not (even if it's not the main point of the topic at hand, which, in this case, is progressive beat speeds - though Kees's analysis shows that that is not the case either). As far as I recall, the only person ever to demonstrate truly progressive beat speeds was the Hamburg D owner who used Dirk's program. I seem to recall you poo-pooing the idea that any software uses entropic techniques, yet we have two examples of this now.

I admire your determination and desire to share what you've learned and look forward to reading the PTG article when it is open to all in October.

Paul.

Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,087
M
3000 Post Club Member
OP Offline
3000 Post Club Member
M
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,087
Originally Posted by Chris Storch
Mark,

Imagine you're a beginning piano tuning student trying to learn temperament. You experience the frustration of trying to hear beats in an octave, a fourth, a fifth, and thirds and sixths. The frustration of just getting through the 13 notes only to find that none of the beat speeds is progressive. You've even got some intervals wrong-sided. Add to that you're struggling with your stability because your arm doesn't yet understand the fine motor skills necessary to keep everything in place. Add to that you're practicing on junk instruments or anything you can find...

And along comes your piano tuning instructor who says you should master unisons simultaneously. By the way, it only takes two years. My guess is the beginning piano tuner is not going to appreciate the "power of it" quite like you do.


Yes, for them I have to pivot. But for others, they get it right away and struggle on.

I often say tuning it is painful to learn aural tuning. But where that pain occurs depends on what method you stumble upon to learn.

Braide-White for example can give relatively quick results but doesn't show us the poor M3 progressions. Using a mute strip allows us to hear clean notes and use them in intervals, but doesn't confirm Weinreich or give us time to find unisons that have drifted, nor does it have the same requirement for clean unisons when tuning SBI.

Using these methods will result in pain later on when customers complain or you are trying to tune better and find the method doesn't help.

DSU is front loaded with pain. That is why I agree that not all students gravitate towards this. In fact, many students don't gravitate towards anything, they just quit. But for those that "get it", they find a challenging method that forces them to get better at unisons, stability, and hearing beats, as fast as possible.

I thought this method was well suited to intermediate tuners who were looking for a way to improve their tunings, but it seems there are even less of those out there. (Although I shouldn't say that. Over 50% of the attendees at my Denver temperament class were 15+ year tuners.)

Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,087
M
3000 Post Club Member
OP Offline
3000 Post Club Member
M
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,087
Originally Posted by pyropaul
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
Originally Posted by pyropaul
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
Originally Posted by pyropaul
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
Way too much hostility here. I think some of you need to reread the forum rules again.


No-one is being hostile. You solicited feedback and were told that your unisons are not up to the task at hand. That's all.



I disagree and I've told you why. If you can counter my argument then do so. If you can't hear RBI from rolling unisons, you need to improve your ear because if you can't hear RBI beats from rolling unisons, you can't hear RBI beats. Maybe that's it. But you did listen to the filtered intervals, no? That sound, the sound of a clean beat, that's what I hear without the filtering. You see why I sense hostility? Maybe it's just frustration.


Of course I can hear the beats, I don't need a bandpass filter for that. But I wonder if the reason you don't demonstrate clean unisons is because you have trouble tuning them? If I'm giving a demonstration of something, I want it to be the best it possibly can be - not so easy "live", but you have all the time you want to produce clean recordings. Listen to what Grandpianoman posts - if you can do a similar quality, it would make your message much more powerful. You have a tendency to be very defensive - that's not a positive trait in a teacher (I know what it's like - I was a prof in a university for a while and have taught hundreds of courses professionally - you just have to have a thick skin and be, well, professional).

You tout your double open string technique - lets hear a demonstration of how good it can be. Then you'll bolster your credibility.

Paul.

DSU took me two years to develop. You can see a video on my website but people have already criticized it.

Nobody had to convince me of its benefits. I understood right away the power of it.

As far as thin skin goes, you are misreading me. Negative, nonconstructive comments on this forum don't mean anything to me. I try to politely continue a presence for the 90% of people who just read these posts, and for the valuable constructive comments I receive.

Your request to demonstrate DSU is an example of a negative nonconstructive comment because 1) I've already done that. If you've visited my site, you see that plus multiple articles explaining its benefits and uses, and 2) it's a moot point to the subject of this thread.


I've been to your site many times and have taken part in your quizzes on various topics. The best unisons were on the octave quiz, but I don't recall anywhere where you have audio examples of a full temperament, except for the recent one, where even you admit there is rolling.

Others have said that, in their opinion, it's not a moot point. This is negative constructive criticism, but your natural reaction is to attack and effectively say that you're right and others are missing the point. You do this in many of your posts, by the way. I already said that, in my opinion, your techniques will have more credibility if the examples you post of their application are exemplary - but even you have agreed they're not (even if it's not the main point of the topic at hand, which, in this case, is progressive beat speeds - though Kees's analysis shows that that is not the case either). As far as I recall, the only person ever to demonstrate truly progressive beat speeds was the Hamburg D owner who used Dirk's program. I seem to recall you poo-pooing the idea that any software uses entropic techniques, yet we have two examples of this now.

I admire your determination and desire to share what you've learned and look forward to reading the PTG article when it is open to all in October.

Paul.


Paul,

I have to take offense to your claim that this is not progressive M3's just because of Kees' measurements.

Let's look at the facts.

Facts:
- I measured all M3's as progressive. You can see that in the chart.
- Interval beat speeds vary so the measurement method is critical. We have to give the benefit of the doubt that where Kees measured the M3 that don't progress, is not where I was listening. (For this, it may behoove us to take Isaac's suggestion and only tune and measure the attack of the intervals.)
- If the M3 are not progressive, it is a criticism of my ability to hear small beat speed differences, since if they are not, and we can hear that, then I should have heard it and corrected it. It does not prove the invalidity of the method.

What I will do however, is eventually add my sequence to the list of intervals that can be played from a recording of temperament notes. Then if a M3 is not progressive, the window used to tune one of the notes should be wrong as well.

Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 717
P
500 Post Club Member
Online Content
500 Post Club Member
P
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 717
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
Originally Posted by pyropaul
[quote=Mark Cerisano, RPT][quote=pyropaul]

I've been to your site many times and have taken part in your quizzes on various topics. The best unisons were on the octave quiz, but I don't recall anywhere where you have audio examples of a full temperament, except for the recent one, where even you admit there is rolling.

Others have said that, in their opinion, it's not a moot point. This is negative constructive criticism, but your natural reaction is to attack and effectively say that you're right and others are missing the point. You do this in many of your posts, by the way. I already said that, in my opinion, your techniques will have more credibility if the examples you post of their application are exemplary - but even you have agreed they're not (even if it's not the main point of the topic at hand, which, in this case, is progressive beat speeds - though Kees's analysis shows that that is not the case either). As far as I recall, the only person ever to demonstrate truly progressive beat speeds was the Hamburg D owner who used Dirk's program. I seem to recall you poo-pooing the idea that any software uses entropic techniques, yet we have two examples of this now.

I admire your determination and desire to share what you've learned and look forward to reading the PTG article when it is open to all in October.

Paul.


Paul,

I have to take offense to your claim that this is not progressive M3's just because of Kees' measurements.

Let's look at the facts.

Facts:
- I measured all M3's as progressive. You can see that in the chart.
- Interval beat speeds vary so the measurement method is critical. We have to give the benefit of the doubt that where Kees measured the M3 that don't progress, is not where I was listening. (For this, it may behoove us to take Isaac's suggestion and only tune and measure the attack of the intervals.)
- If the M3 are not progressive, it is a criticism of my ability to hear small beat speed differences, since if they are not, and we can hear that, then I should have heard it and corrected it. It does not prove the invalidity of the method.

What I will do however, is eventually add my sequence to the list of intervals that can be played from a recording of temperament notes. Then if a M3 is not progressive, the window used to tune one of the notes should be wrong as well.


OK, fair point, as I have no way to verify which set of measurements is correct. Since Kees has been the "golden reference" of measuring other people's attempts at progressive M3s, I took his measurements seriously. Obviously your figures are different - in anycase, the lack of progression is small.

I still think it would be more interesting to have the full F3-A4 samples as this will tie in with your other tutorials on how to set the octave size for the F3-F4 and A3-A4 octaves correctly - or does this new technique not required that step anymore?

Also, what could be interesting, too, is whether the rate of progression is correct - I suppose this depends on iH (as everything else), but just a simple progression may not be "correct enough" for a good sounding ET.

Paul.

Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,087
M
3000 Post Club Member
OP Offline
3000 Post Club Member
M
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,087
Originally Posted by pyropaul
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
Originally Posted by pyropaul
[quote=Mark Cerisano, RPT][quote=pyropaul]

I've been to your site many times and have taken part in your quizzes on various topics. The best unisons were on the octave quiz, but I don't recall anywhere where you have audio examples of a full temperament, except for the recent one, where even you admit there is rolling.

Others have said that, in their opinion, it's not a moot point. This is negative constructive criticism, but your natural reaction is to attack and effectively say that you're right and others are missing the point. You do this in many of your posts, by the way. I already said that, in my opinion, your techniques will have more credibility if the examples you post of their application are exemplary - but even you have agreed they're not (even if it's not the main point of the topic at hand, which, in this case, is progressive beat speeds - though Kees's analysis shows that that is not the case either). As far as I recall, the only person ever to demonstrate truly progressive beat speeds was the Hamburg D owner who used Dirk's program. I seem to recall you poo-pooing the idea that any software uses entropic techniques, yet we have two examples of this now.

I admire your determination and desire to share what you've learned and look forward to reading the PTG article when it is open to all in October.

Paul.


Paul,

I have to take offense to your claim that this is not progressive M3's just because of Kees' measurements.

Let's look at the facts.

Facts:
- I measured all M3's as progressive. You can see that in the chart.
- Interval beat speeds vary so the measurement method is critical. We have to give the benefit of the doubt that where Kees measured the M3 that don't progress, is not where I was listening. (For this, it may behoove us to take Isaac's suggestion and only tune and measure the attack of the intervals.)
- If the M3 are not progressive, it is a criticism of my ability to hear small beat speed differences, since if they are not, and we can hear that, then I should have heard it and corrected it. It does not prove the invalidity of the method.

What I will do however, is eventually add my sequence to the list of intervals that can be played from a recording of temperament notes. Then if a M3 is not progressive, the window used to tune one of the notes should be wrong as well.


OK, fair point, as I have no way to verify which set of measurements is correct. Since Kees has been the "golden reference" of measuring other people's attempts at progressive M3s, I took his measurements seriously. Obviously your figures are different - in anycase, the lack of progression is small.

I still think it would be more interesting to have the full F3-A4 samples as this will tie in with your other tutorials on how to set the octave size for the F3-F4 and A3-A4 octaves correctly - or does this new technique not required that step anymore?

Also, what could be interesting, too, is whether the rate of progression is correct - I suppose this depends on iH (as everything else), but just a simple progression may not be "correct enough" for a good sounding ET.

Paul.


Many temperaments start with:
1. Tune A4 from the source(fork).
2. Tune A3 from A4.
3. Tune F3 to F4 using a series of tests and checks.

For this reason I only need F3F4. People expand their temperaments for more accuracy. I'm happy with the accuracy of the F3F4 model using beat speed windows and aurally measured iH.

Hope that is clearer.

Joined: May 2010
Posts: 2,515
2000 Post Club Member
Offline
2000 Post Club Member
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 2,515
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
I have to take offense to your claim that this is not progressive M3's just because of Kees' measurements.

Instead of being offended I recommend substantiating your measurements instead.

Below how I measured B3D#4 beatspeed. I selected 10 beats, bottom right you can read off that this was over 1.125seconds. 10/1.125=8.9bps. This was from the "filtered" audio recording.

[Linked Image]

How did you measure it?

Kees

Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 315
C
Full Member
Offline
Full Member
C
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 315
My assessment of beat speeds from the recording titled "Yamaha GH1 Major Thirds, filtered"

F-A = 6.6 bps (8 observed beats spanning 1.22 sec)
F#-A# = 6.7 bps (5 observed beats spanning 0.75 sec)
G-B = 8.3 bps (6 observed beats spanning 0.72 sec)
G#-C = 7.7 bps (12 observed beats spanning 1.55 sec)
A-C# = 8.8 bps (5 observed beats spanning 0.57 sec)
A#-D = 9.7 bps (6 observed beats spanning 0.62 sec)
B-D# = 8.8 bps (5 observed beats spanning 0.57 sec) beat computation varies widely depending start point
C-E = 10.0 bps (10 observed beats spanning 1.00 sec)
C#-F = 10.2 bps (14 observed beats spanning 1.37 sec)

Direct feed into Spectraplus software. Peak amplitude of beats identified by visual inspection in time domain (disregarding the first observable beat in each case). Time interval measured by hand placement of cursor.



Chris Storch
Acoustician / Piano Technician
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,087
M
3000 Post Club Member
OP Offline
3000 Post Club Member
M
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,087
[Linked Image]

This brings up some important points regarding how we measure beat speeds.

1. You should not take a large number of beats even though that would imply better averaging, because that is not how aural tuners listen to beats. They just need to hear two or three to get a sense of the speed, so that is what they will judge. It may not be mathematically ideal, but if we spent extra time on each interval, mulling over the beat rate, it would take us forever. Those three beats I took are the best defined and hence may be the ones I focused on. Read about "benefit of the doubt" in #2. Also, the beat speed inferred from listening for longer would be more difficult because of #2.

2. Beat speeds vary over the sustain of an interval. Here is proof. You can actually "see" the beat speeds slow down in the sample you took. Also, your method does not show very much definition as to where one should start or end the time measurement, IMHO. I submit that we need to give the aural tuner the benefit of the doubt that they were actually listening to those beats that produce progressive rates, if they are there, and well defined. There is a limit to the actual rate they could present.

Last edited by Mark Cerisano, RPT; 07/31/15 01:05 AM.
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 2,515
2000 Post Club Member
Offline
2000 Post Club Member
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 2,515
Thanks for showing that Mark, that is clear, and you obviously heard that right. I am impressed.

I would however argue that it does not matter how aural tuners listen to beats, no more than it matters how an ETD does its analysis, it is the result that counts. This then brings up the question of which beats should be progressive to be a true ET? The initial 3 you listened to, or more? Thinking of a musical context I would say the tuning of the M3 matters most and is most audible for longer held intervals, so I tend to look at as many beats as possible.

I have not seen this "speeding up" business before, and it was not an issue in the only unambiguously progressive sets of M3's I've ever seen by Bernhard Stopper, but those were single string. I guess when you have 6 strings beating at the same partial things get a bit more complicated, especially when the unisons are not perfect.

Now some people here have posted they can "hear" that the M3's are not progressive. I think we can dismiss those comments unless substantiated.

Kees

Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,667
2000 Post Club Member
Offline
2000 Post Club Member
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,667
Mark,

I don't want to cry "wolf" (yes, pun intended), but I think there is something seriously wrong with G#3-D#3.


Autodidact interested in piano technology.
1970 44" Ibach, daily music maker.
1977 "Ortega" 8' + 8' harpsichord (Rainer Schütze, Heidelberg)
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 9,230
O
9000 Post Club Member
Offline
9000 Post Club Member
O
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 9,230
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
Originally Posted by Olek
Originally Posted by Mark Cerisano, RPT
I tune double string unisons. I never listen to single strings so I never have them to record. Muting the piano after tuning could shift pitches up to 2 cents due to Weinreich.

I recorded this during an actual tuning, no fudging to make myself look better. I finished the temperament in one pass and thought, "Hmmm, sounds pretty good. Maybe I'll record it and measure it." I did this once before and it didn't come out as even, but I've been focusing on beat speed differences for a while now and believe my precision is improving. I got down to 1% on my beat speed difference test today.

However, for analysis, I require candidates to provide single string recordings.

Does the blooming impede your judgement of the progressions? And what about the presentation method? Do you think it would be useful as a tool for beginners or those wishing to improve their aural skills?



Marc I I'll not say about beat speed, if you measured them no reason not to trust you, but the unison have no attack, that make those beat sound unfocused.
Intervals must sound firm, "rooted", solid, this is mostly due to a good attack and projection tone, partially due to voicing,(that "show you the way" but if the voicing is 'not ideal, strings and hammers are old, you still can tune a strong attack by playing strong enough to have the "body " of the tone appearing. (only above a certain level, you feel at this time the energy in the keys).

I wonder if you confuse blooming and enveloppe building.

Anyway my opinion with the way you tube double open strings is that you're too much moving the pins back and forth, it cannot allow the optimal result which is :

All pins torqued similarly. (I leave to you the maths for mechanics with more or less long NSL, it may certainly be true, but I only can obtain firm and stable tone by tuning high only and from an evened tension, hence the repeated playing until I feel the string do not move anymore)

Just if you had more torqued pins, your partials would moan less.

I am suspecting you are so much focusing on beats, That it make loose a little the necessary point of view from a little farther.

Certainly the equality relation between different interval beat speed can be used, may be by being used to recognize their events. But then you should be capable of playing both intervals together, as they are supposed to beat the same.
And notice if the result is sounding solid or no.

Regards

Please accept that I'm not criticizing for pleasure, just trying to say something useful.

Even on a mediocre instrument, intervals and chords should sound "rooted", solid, name escape me for that concept.

A friend check the F3F4 ladder by playing all notes together, for instance.
Any interval, harmonious or no, will sound thick and robust with good unison.

Tuning with only one mute, or with the sustain pedal engaged, hides the meaning if the robustness of tone is not apprehended.

The tuned attack will generate clean beats, too may be not as stable in speed as expected, but ringing clear.



I am interested in tuning the attack, but I find that when I tune the attack strong, the body of the sustain is weak or wavering. Comments?


Hi Mark, the attack is obviously the moment where most energy is available, then this is where that noise can be shaped do it produce clean partials.

May be thrsttack is not something as immediate as you think, we may allow the hammer the time to leave the strings, may be.
Anyway the sound projection comes from there.

Decoupling a little the strings make the tone stronger, but not purer, there is then some moan, or whine.

Coupling early put all in line, in the allowed limits of our 2 or 3 strings construction, the strings having spectra differences will never allow laboratory purity.

An ear opener for me was seeing a colleague that was instructing another one on how to obtain full and long basses with 2*strongs wound.

He used to play lightly fast rebounds of the hammer on the bichords, just to catch in the ear what part of tone he need to work from.
I suggest that with 2 wound strings, the listening is approx the same, projection, and cleanness of the sustain.

I hear (even "visualise") the attack energy spreading along the strings.

The tone get thick and yes one may be attentive not to leave whining, so the second and third partials must be coupling.

The amount of torque in the pin have a role there, in quietening the partials.

May be some voicing should help too, an enlarged attack gives more possibilities, may be because the rebound is slower, hence longer, we can tune it more easily.

Regards


Professional of the profession.
Foo Foo specialist
I wish to add some kind and sensitive phrase but nothing comes to mind.!
Page 2 of 5 1 2 3 4 5

Moderated by  Piano World, platuser 

Link Copied to Clipboard
What's Hot!!
Piano World Has Been Sold!
--------------------
Forums RULES, Terms of Service & HELP
(updated 06/06/2022)
---------------------
Posting Pictures on the Forums
(ad)
(ad)
New Topics - Multiple Forums
Country style lessons
by Stephen_James - 04/16/24 06:04 AM
How Much to Sell For?
by TexasMom1 - 04/15/24 10:23 PM
Song lyrics have become simpler and more repetitive
by FrankCox - 04/15/24 07:42 PM
New bass strings sound tubby
by Emery Wang - 04/15/24 06:54 PM
Forum Statistics
Forums43
Topics223,385
Posts3,349,185
Members111,631
Most Online15,252
Mar 21st, 2010

Our Piano Related Classified Ads
| Dealers | Tuners | Lessons | Movers | Restorations |

Advertise on Piano World
| Piano World | PianoSupplies.com | Advertise on Piano World |
| |Contact | Privacy | Legal | About Us | Site Map


Copyright © VerticalScope Inc. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this site may be reproduced without prior written permission
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community.