
                                                         Chapter 5-1

                               CHAPTER FIVE
        
                        PITCH RAISING AND LOWERING
        
             All  pianos  are now manufactured to be  tuned  to  the 
        standard  pitch of A-440.  This simply means that  the  note 
        A-49  will  sound  at 440 cycles per  second  when  properly 
        tuned.
        
             Pianos  that are much lower in pitch than the  standard 
        will  sound lifeless or dull.  The strings do not  have  the 
        tension  necessary to produce the correct piano sound.   You 
        have  heard  people say that the piano is too  old  and  the 
        sound  is "tinny" or other descriptive words.  The  fact  of 
        the  matter is that an old piano can sound just as good  and 
        sometimes  better than many new ones when  tuned  correctly.  
        If  the piano is 1/2 step or more below the  standard  pitch 
        and  the  unisons are also out of tune,  it  will  obviously 
        produce the "BARROOM" sound associated with old pianos.   If 
        there is no mechanical problem which prevents the piano from 
        being  brought  up to pitch and tuned, you  should  have  no 
        problem in having a satisfied customer when you are through.
        
             As  a matter of fact, many older pianos, when tuned  to 
        pitch will produce a better sound than newer pianos.
        
             CAUTION:  Always tighten the plate bolts and look  over 
        the  entire  piano  for defects that may  prohibit  a  pitch 
        raising.   Test  a few tuning pins to see if they  have  the 
        necessary  torque  to  hold the extra tension  you  will  be 
        applying.
        
             Pianos that are sharp to the standard pitch are putting 
        more  stress  on the plate than it was built  to  withstand.  
        Although there is less probability of breaking strings  when 
        lowering the pitch, it nevertheless is just as time  consum-
        ing as raising the pitch.
        
        
                         WHY PIANOS GO OUT OF TUNE
        
             If I've heard it once I have heard it hundreds of times 
        -  "I didn't know pianos had to be tuned that often"!   Most 
        of  your  new customers have no idea how often  or  even  IF 
        pianos need tuning.  You should spend at least five  minutes 
        trying to educate your customer.  It will pay off in obtain-
        ing more regular tunings.
        
             A number of factors are involved in causing a piano  to 
        go  out of tune.  You will hear many times that  the  reason 
        the customer waited so long to have the piano tuned is  that 
        no one ever played it.  They think that playing the piano is 
        the  only reason it will go out of tune.  Although  this  is 
        one cause, it certainly is not the main one.








                                                         Chapter 5-2

             Changes  in  temperature  or humidity  have  a  drastic 
        affect on the stability of the pitch.  Pianos have a tenden-
        cy  to go sharp in high humidity and flat in  low  humidity.  
        You  will find that a late summer tuning in a high  humidity 
        area  will  (IF the piano is tuned  regularly)  occasionally 
        require  a pitch lowering, whereas a late winter tuning  may 
        require  a pitch raising.  If the piano is of  good  quality 
        and is serviced regularly, the pitch should not be  terribly 
        off, but you will see that this will be rule rather than the 
        exception to some degree.
        
              If  a  piano is let stand from year  to  year  without 
        being  tuned, it will go through numerous rises  and  falls.  
        The result usually is a lowering of pitch. It will  normally 
        fall more than it will rise from season to season.
        
             Obviously,  the same piano will react  differently  de-
        pending on the atmospheric conditions in which it is placed.  
        In a modern house, with modern controls for temperature  and 
        humidity,  a  piano will stay in tune much  longer  than  it 
        would  in  a  house with little or no  insulation  and  poor 
        temperature controls.
        
             Years ago, little could be done to alleviate this prob-
        lem.  Some piano owners kept pots of water in the bottom  of 
        the  piano and a number of potted plants in the area  during 
        the  dry  months.  During the high  humidity  months,  light 
        bulbs  were put in the bottom of the piano to draw  out  the 
        humidity.
        
             Today,  there are humidity control systems sold by  the 
        supply houses that greatly reduce this problem.  Pianos with 
        these  systems still require regular tunings, but they  will 
        not  go  out nearly  as fast or nearly as far  in  a  normal 
        tuning interval of six months.
        
             I  never fail to recommend these systems to my  custom-
        ers.   Not only will you make a profit on  the  installation 
        (up to $150.00), you will have easier tunings from then  on.  
        The customer benefits because the piano will always be  very 
        close in tune if it is serviced regularly.  Everybody wins.
        
             One major problem that you encounter while tuning  that 
        is  caused by fluctuations in humidity is tuning  pins  that 
        are  too  tight or too loose.  Pins that are too  tight  are 
        very difficult to set and pins that are too loose are impos-
        sible to set.
        
             Regardless of the reasons for pianos going out of tune, 
        our job is to put them in tune.
        
        
                              PITCH RAISING
        
             I  will begin with the recommended procedure  to  raise 
        the pitch since this will occur more frequently than a pitch 
        lowering.
        






                                                         Chapter 5-3

             A number of factors must be weighed before you  attempt 
        to raise the pitch of a piano.  These include:
        
        1.   The age of piano
        2.   The condition of the piano
        3.   How far down in pitch the piano is
        
             A  new  piano should be tuned at least four  times  the 
        first  year.  It has been my experience that  hardly  anyone 
        other  than manufacturers and technicians are aware of  this 
        fact.  Some sales personnel understand this, but are  reluc-
        tant to tell their customers.  I can only assume that  since 
        this  fact will add the cost of the tunings to the price  of 
        the piano, they are afraid of losing the sale.  A sad situa-
        tion, but I'm afraid it is too often true.
        
             My  hat is off to those respectable merchants  who  not 
        only  tell their customers of the importance of those  first 
        four  tunings, but also provide at least one or two of  them 
        without  cost.   I personally believe they would  sell  more 
        pianos this way.
        
             A new piano that has only been tuned once and then  let 
        stand  for a few years is much harder to tune than an  older 
        piano that has been tuned regularly over the years.  This is 
        usually very difficult to explain to a customer.
        
             You  will find the newer piano that has not been  tuned 
        will  require more frequent tunings for the first couple  of 
        years than you would normally recommend.  You possibly  will 
        not have string breakage or structure problems as you may on 
        an older instrument, but the tuning stability will take some 
        time to establish.
        
             An  older piano presents a number of interesting  prob-
        lems.  Let's take a hypothetical situation and work it out.
        
             A tuner just received a call from a potential  customer 
        and it goes something like this.
        
        CUSTOMER:      How much do you charge for a tuning?
        
        TECHNICIAN:    Let  me ask you a few questions and see if  I 
                       can  answer  that  without  inspecting   your 
                       piano. What kind of piano do you own?
        
        CUSTOMER:      An  old one that has been in the  family  for 
                       years.
        
        TECHNICIAN:    Is it an upright or a grand?
        
        CUSTOMER:      What is the difference?
        
        TECHNICIAN:    Explains...
        
        CUSTOMER:      I guess it is an upright
        
        TECHNICIAN:    How long has it been since it has been tuned?
        





                                                         Chapter 5-4

        CUSTOMER:      (long  pause)  It doesn't seem to be too  far 
                       out  but  I guess it has been eight  or  nine 
                       years.   (At  this point, you  should  assume 
                       that it has been much longer).
        
        TECHNICIAN:    Explain  that  it is possible the  piano  has 
                       gone so far out of tune that it may take more 
                       than  one  tuning  to get  it  up  to  pitch.  
                       Outline charges.
        
        CUSTOMER:      They  either say O.K. or that they will  call 
                       back.  We will assume they say O.K.
        
        An appointment is set and upon arrival we find:
        
             A  piano that obviously has not seen a  technician  for 
        many, many moons, if ever.  We also find that every  picture 
        and  ornament  imaginable  is piled on  top  of  the  piano.  
        She/He says, "I didn't know you had to lift up the top???"
        
             Eventually,  you get the lid up and the top panel  off. 
        You  see  strange things inside.  Paper  clips,  hair  pins, 
        traces  of  varmint residue,  some rust on the  strings  and 
        tuning pins, some moth eaten hammers...
        
             At  this point it is hard not to deliver a  lecture  on 
        the merits of regular service - DON"T!  That is the quickest 
        way I know of to lose a customer.  They do not want to  hear 
        how  delinquent they have been.  They only want to  know  if 
        you can fix it for nothing.
        
             Now, it is recommended that you inform the customer  of 
        all  the problems you see and explain that tuning the  piano 
        will  not necessarily take care of them.  This is  sometimes 
        hard to do, because the average owner cannot understand that 
        tuning   and  repair/regulation  are  separate   operations.  
        However,  do the best you can because if you tune the  piano 
        without any other work being done and they start playing it, 
        the other problems will surely surface.
        
             The  customer says to "just tune it" and we will  worry 
        about  the repair work later.  This is fine if all the  ham-
        mers  hit the strings, the tuning pins are tight enough  and 
        the strings are all there.  Also, you will check the bridges 
        to ensure they are not cracked and will withstand a tuning.
        
             We  will now assume the piano CAN be tuned in spite  of 
        any other mechanical problems.
        
             You  must now (if you haven't already)  determine  just 
        how far down in pitch the piano is. Once you determine this, 
        you  will be able to tell the customer the procedure  neces-
        sary and approximately the charge required. Explain that  it 
        is  always  possible that some strings may  break  and  this 
        would require an extra charge.
        








                                                         Chapter 5-5

             NOTE:  In the section on minor piano repair which is on 
        the "BUSINESS" disk, you will receive instruction on how  to 
        make  most  of the minor repairs necesary in  the  customers 
        home.   String  replacement is discussed in Chapter  six  of 
        this book.
        
             There are a number of ways to accurately determine  the 
        pitch of the piano and I will briefly describe them.   After 
        experimentation, you will decide which method you prefer.
        
        
                            ELECTRONIC METHOD
        
             By far, the easiest and fastest method to determine the 
        frequency of the notes on the piano is by using an electron-
        ic device.  I occasionally use the "SIGHT O TUNER" which can 
        be  purchased directly from the inventor, or from  at  least 
        one  supply house.  Many other brands are available,  so  if 
        you are interested in this method, you will have a  decision 
        to make.
        
             I must emphasize that you should NOT purchase an  elec-
        tronic  tuner until you are capable of tuning a  piano  with 
        just a tuning fork, mutes and your ear.
        
             A  discussion on electronic tuning and why I  SOMETIMES 
        rely on this method is provided to enrolled students on  the 
        audio tapes.
        
             Three reasons for learning the correct way of tuning:
        
                  1.   What  happens  when  your  electronic  device 
                       fails?   Do you turn to the customer and  say 
                       "I'm  sorry,  but my tuner is  not  working"?  
                       YOU are supposed to be the tuner.
        
                  2.   A  tuning  fork is provided  with  the  basic 
                       tuning kit - The best electronic tuner  costs 
                       at least $1000. The best tuning device avail-
                       able is YOUR EAR, which I believe was provid-
                       ed at no cost.
        
                  3.   Complete satisfaction and confidence in  your 
                       abilities.   You  are  in charge  -  you  can 
                       handle  any situation without  an  electronic 
                       aid.

        
                               AURAL METHOD
        
             If  you  do  not have access to  an  electronic  tuning 
        device, you will be able to determine the pitch of the piano 
        by  simply  using your ear and applying  the  expertise  you 
        learned earlier in this course.
        









                                                         Chapter 5-6

             Let's assume that you have only a "C" tuning fork which 
        sounds at 523.251 C.P.S.  When you sound this fork and  then 
        sound  C-52 on the piano, you will obviously hear  something 
        other than a  tuned unison.  REMEMBER to mute off the  outer 
        strings of C-52.
        
             Let's further assume that when you sound the fork  with 
        the  string that C-52 sounds "lower" than the fork, and  you 
        can hear beats.
        
             Recall from previous discussions you learned that there 
        are  100  "cents"  between  each 1/2  step.   This  is  true 
        throughout  the  piano scale, but C.P.S. and  CENTS  do  not 
        coincide in the same way.
        
             For  example, when you were practicing  tuning  unisons 
        and then adjusting the left string to beat at 1,2,3,4,  etc. 
        C.P.S.,  each cycle per second equated to a specific  number 
        of CENTS.
        
             If  the center string of A-49 is set at 440 C.P.S.  and 
        the  left  string is set at 438 C.P.S., you  will  hear  two 
        beats  per second.  This also is a distance of  7.88  CENTS.  
        If you hear eight beats, the distance would be approximately 
        32 cents.
        
             For those of you who would like a formula to figure out 
        this relationship between C.P.S. and CENTS here it is!
        
        On a Texas Instrument (TI-55):
             440/438 = log/2 log x 1200 = 7.887
        
        For a more complete illustration, lets assume that you sound 
        A-49  on the piano with an A-440 tuning fork and  find  that 
        the piano is beating 6 C.P.S. flat.
        
             1.   enter 440 in the calculator and divide by 434
             2.   press the = sign
             3.   press the log button
             4.   divide this result by 2
             5.   press  the log button (do not press = first)
             6.   multiply by 1200 and you should get 23.77
        This tells you the piano is approximately 24 cents flat.
        
        Believe  me, you DO NOT have to know the above procedure  to 
        determine the approximate pitch of the piano, but there  are 
        some  people who like to know exactly how these pitches  are 
        calculated. More power to them - I didn't learn this  proce-
        dure until I had been tuning over 10 years.
        
             NOW, for the procedure I have always used.
        
             Let's  say that you know the piano is pretty far  flat, 
        but the beats are so fast in the C-52 region that you cannot 
        count them.
        
             Sound  C#-53 and the C-52 fork together.  If the C#  is 
        close  to the pitch of the fork, the piano would have to  be 






                                                         Chapter 5-7

        close  1/2 step or 100 CENTS flat.  If the C# is lower  than 
        the fork, the piano would be over 1/2 step and if the C3  is 
        higher than the fork, the piano is less than 1/2 step flat.
        
             The point is, you must determine APPROXIMATELY how  far 
        flat the piano is so the proper pitch raising procedure  can 
        be applied.
        
             If your tests show that the piano is very close to  the 
        standard  pitch, you will merely set a temperament and  tune 
        it  the  normal way.  However, if the piano is  close  to  a 
        quarter  step flat, you must first bring it up  to  slightly 
        over standard pitch and THEN set a temperament and tune.
        
        
                         1/4 STEP (50 cents) FLAT
        
             It has been my experience that a piano will fall  about 
        25% of the distance it is raised in one tuning rather quick-
        ly. Since we are attempting to raise the pitch 50 cents,  we 
        will raise it over pitch approximately 12 cents (50/4).
        
             To do this, mute off the two outer strings of C-52  and 
        tune  the  center string to the fork so you hear  NO  beats.  
        Now pull out the right mute and raise the right string  OVER 
        the  middle string until you hear 4 C.P.S.  In this area  of 
        the piano, 4 C.P.S. = approximately 12 cents.  Then tune the 
        middle and left strings to the right one.  You now have C-52 
        tuned about 12 cents sharp.
        
             If the piano is less than 1/4 step flat, just  decrease 
        the distance you pull the string over pitch.
        
             Now,  mute  the entire piano - set  a  temperament  and 
        quickly pull the strings close to pitch.  At this point  you 
        are  not  "fine  tuning".   You just  want  to  stretch  the 
        strings,  so don't worry if your temperament or octaves  are 
        not perfect.
        
             After  you finish this very "rough" tuning, check  C-52 
        against the fork and see how far down the piano has  fallen.  
        You may have to repeat this procedure more than once  before 
        the final tuning.

             A  WORD OF CAUTION:  If there is rust on  the  strings, 
        always  turn the pin DOWN first before raising it up  to  or 
        over pitch.  This will tend to break loose the rust bond and 
        string breakage is less likely. If the strings are extremely 
        rusty,  you may be better off telling the customer that  the 
        piano  should  be  tuned at a lower pitch due  to  the  high 
        probability of string breakage.
        
        











                                                         Chapter 5-8

                            OVER 1/4 STEP FLAT
        
             If  the  piano is between 1/4 and 1/2  step  flat,  the 
        above procedure will work on some pianos and not on  others.  
        The  condition of the pin block, strings and so  forth  will 
        determine  this.  An extra "rough" tuning may be  necessary, 
        but essentially you follow the same procedure.
        
             If  the  piano is over 1/2 step flat, I  recommend  you 
        give  it a minimum of two rough tunings and return in a  few 
        days for one more rough tuning followed by the final  "fine" 
        tuning.  The space of a few days is usually necessary to let 
        the piano "settle".  When you return you will have a  pretty 
        good idea of how well the piano will hold its pitch.
        
             Your  first  rough tuning on a piano that is  1/2  step 
        flat  can be easily accomplished by simply starting  at  the 
        bottom of the piano on A-1 and tuning it to A#-2, then  tune 
        A#-2  to  B-3, and so on all the way up to  C-88.  Just  one 
        string  per unison first and then pull up the others.   Your 
        second rough tuning will include setting a temperament.
        
             Pianos  that are a full step or more flat will  require 
        the  above procedure and a return visit one, three  and  six 
        months  later  before you can be reasonably  sure  that  the 
        pitch is stabilized.
        
             When  a  piano is over a full step down, care  must  be 
        takes so the tension is applied evenly throughout the piano.  
        If  the  piano is old and in generally poor shape, it  is  a 
        good  idea to bring it up 1/4 step or so at a time.   It  is 
        rare that a plate will crack, but why take chances?  
        
             I  know I have said this a few times before, but it  is 
        worth repeating - Mute the entire piano and apply tension to 
        one  string per unison throughout the scale.j   This  method 
        will stabilize the pitch in a shorter time and the possibil-
        ity of damage to the instrument is much less.
        
             Please  understand that the above procedures are  based 
        on  my  experiences over the years. I  have  discussed  this 
        subject  with many technicians and found that many  of  them 
        will  pull  up the pitch of a piano (regardless of  how  far 
        down it is) and immediately set a temperament and fine  tune 
        it.

             I  have done this many times in the past, and  am  con-
        vinced  that the procedures I outlined above work  best  for 
        ME.  After you have tuned for a while, you will decide  what 
        works best for YOU.
        
        












                                                         Chapter 5-9

                              PITCH LOWERING
        
             To  lower the pitch, simply reverse the  procedure  you 
        use  in raising the pitch.  You will go below  the  standard 
        pitch by 25% of the distance the piano is sharp.   Depending 
        on how far sharp the piano is, you will rough tune until  it 
        begins to hold and then fine tune.
        
             It is rare that a piano will go as far over pitch as it 
        will  go  under.  Only in climates  with  consistently  high 
        humidity  would you find this situation.  We are so used  to 
        tuning flat pianos that it feels awkward to tune one that is 
        sharp.   Once you get used to "setting the pin" in  reverse, 
        you will have no problem.
        
        In this chapter, you learned:
        
        1.   Precautions to take when raising the pitch of a piano
        2.   Why pianos go out of tune
        3.   Importance of humidity control
        4.   Brief explanation of electronic tuning (more on tapes)
        5.   How to determine the pitch of the piano your are  going 
             to tune eith just your ear and a tuning fork
        6.   "technical"  info on how to find pitches without  using 
             the charts
        7.   Raising the pitch less than 1/4 step
        8.   Raising the pitch more than 1/4 step
        9.   Pitch lowering
        
        Press P to print out this chapter, or ESC for the menu.


