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Initiate by playing the reference pitch (A4) on the piano and monitor the tuner’s display. If the middle A3 note does not align with the desired frequency, adjustments are in order. Utilize the tuning lever to manipulate the corresponding tuning pin. Turn it clockwise to elevate the pitch or counterclockwise to lower it.
- There Is A Fascinating (To Some) Paradox in Piano Tuning.
- So, What’s The Problem?
- Tempering
- Equal Temperament Spreads The Error Evenly Over All Twelve Notes.
- The Problem with Pianos: Inharmonicity
- What A Piano Tuner Listens to
- Electronic Tuning Devices – Edt’S
To be perceived as being “in tune” a piano must be tuned precisely “out of tune”. In other words, intervals that one would assume to be “pure” such as the octave and perfect fifth, are in fact not pure by a very small and specific amount. To see why this is, we have to explore the worlds of equal temperament, inharmonicity and piano tuning.
The Temperamental Comma
As musical history progressed, the particular oddity of the harmonic sequence began to show its ugly head. If you keep multiplying the original frequency in a series (2,3,4,5…) the resulting pitches vary slightly from a perfect multiple of the original. This is a phenomenon of mathematics because the multiples in an infinite series diverge slightly. The further up you go in the harmonic series, the greater the notes diverge from their lower cousins. Even though this divergence was known in th...
Think about this for a minute.
An oddity in mathematics shows up in real life in that you can’t tune a piano using what would otherwise seem to be a simple mathematical formula: consecutive Perfect 5ths. You should be able to stack Perfect 5ths on each other and come out, 12 notes later, in the same place….but you don’t. As Evelyn Lamb writes in Scientific American in a post titled “The Saddest Thing I Know About Integers”: Also notice the lovely piano in the photo. One solution is to tune an instrument so that the octaves...
Tempering a scale is the process of slightly adjusting each pitch out of its mathematical frequency so that all the resulting pitches fit within in octave. There are many different ways to temper a musical scale and many different temperaments have evolved. However, the 800lb gorilla in the room is Equal Temperament. Equal Temperament is the system...
This means each key signature has the same degree of dissonance and that there is no Wolf. You spread this error by making the fifth slightly narrower and the fourths slightly wider. This also means that in equal temperament, the resulting major thirds have a very pronounced beat to them that they did not have in the less equal temperaments. While ...
If tempering the fourths and fifths was all that was required to tune a piano properly in equal temperament, that would be enough of a challenge. But pianos, specifically the steel wire used in piano strings, present another set of problems. Inharmonicity is a physical problem that results in a mathematical one. Because the wire in a piano is made ...
A piano tuner listens to particular harmonics of a pitch rather than the fundamental pitch. These are also called overtones or partials. A tuner will listen for beats coming from coincident partials of two fundamental pitches and will tune the note to the reference pitch so that one or more of these coincident partials are in tune. Here is the catc...
Learning to tune by ear is hard and takes a sustained effort over a long time. Even then there is great variability in the end results as some tuners are more careful and conscientious and skilled at getting the strings tuned to their optimal point for a given piano. Electronic tuning devices have been around for decades but were only used for sing...
Apr 11, 2024 · Tuning the middle octave: Begin with the middle octave, as it sets the standard for the rest of the piano. Use your tuning lever and ETD to adjust each string to the correct pitch. Sequential tuning order: After the middle octave, move outward. Tune the upper octaves first, then the lower ones.
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Jul 27, 2023 · Step 1. Begin by locating the A4 key on the piano, which is the A above middle C. This key is typically tuned to the industry standard frequency of 440 Hz, but it can vary depending on the desired pitch. Once tuned, you’ll need to identify the unisons, which are pairs or groups of strings that are meant to produce the same pitch.
- Chris Corfield
Mar 13, 2023 · Overall, a piano tuning typically takes between one and two hours, depending on the condition of the piano and the level of tuning required. After the tuning is complete, the piano should sound noticeably better, with each note in proper tune and the overall sound of the piano more clear and balanced. When your tuner is working, it’s crucial ...
Dec 15, 2021 · How to Tune a Piano: 8 Steps for Piano Tuning. Written by MasterClass. Last updated: Dec 15, 2021 • 5 min read. For the best sound, a piano needs tuning twice a year. If you’re a new piano owner or an aspiring pianist, you may want to do it yourself. Read on to learn how to tune a piano. For the best sound, a piano needs tuning twice a year.
Sep 13, 2017 · To the uninitiated, tuning a piano may seem a simple, straightforward procedure, but it isn’t. The process is complicated by the sheer number of strings and tuning pins (more than 200 of each, the exact number varying with the model), by the high tension under which the strings are stretched, by the tightness with which the tuning pins are anchored in the pinblock, and by the friction points ...
