Monday, 22 May 2023

Tuning By Plucking

One useful technique I forgot to mention in last month’s blog post on treble tuning is plucking. If you are having difficulty hearing a unison or even an octave in the high treble, then pluck the strings and listen to the relative pitch.

This approach, in combination with the key, may help clear things up a bit. (If you have not read my last post, I suggest you do so to maintain continuity with this one.) Every note must be tested until you know that it is right, or as right as possible, before going on to the next string. This applies to every aspect of tuning, temperament, treble, and bass, and cannot be overly stressed here. After completing the temperament, I start tuning the bass by tuning E3 so its fifth (B3) is as pure as possible without an overly rough fourth (A3), and so the third (G#3) and sixth (C#o) retrogress evenly relative to their adjacent intervals.

I have found the third/tenth test useful, but none of the above are as important as the sound of the octave itself. 

The one thing that does come out rather rapidly is an error in the temperament. One obvious error is the slanted temperament. This is my term for the temperament where everything appears to work out well but the thirds progress too slowly or too rapidly - as shown by roller-coastering of the retrogressive thirds. If the roller-coastering is minor it can be ignored (but remembered for correction at the next tuning). If the error is excessive, then the temperament must be retuned. If the first few thirds going into the bass are too fast, the temperament slope is ... 

Read more at:

https://www.professionalpianotunerlondon.co.uk/post/tuning-by-plucking 

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