In Spring of 2020, I changed my treble tuning routines.
Before completely changing over to this new treble tuning, I needed to make sure I was on the right track.
Being sure required tuning more pianos (of different sizes and shapes), more listening, and conversations with customers and other technicians. It had to sound good on all types and sizes of pianos and be something my customers and I were going to enjoy musically.
This ‘field’ work included making these recordings. These recordings allowed me to evaluate from somewhere other than at the piano. They were made with an iPhone SE.
Contained below is a random collection of some of those recordings.
Each recording is 3 – 4 minutes long. You’ll hear some extraneous noises, (bench scooting, noisy pedaling, flubbed notes, customers chiming in not knowing I was recording) since the iPhone was just sitting on a plate strut or on the top of the vertical piano.
I start with what I call some ‘big chords and slow arpeggios’, then a small bit of a Beethoven Sonata in various permutations I find handy for listening to the treble tuning, and finally a more contemporary snippet.
I do the same routine on every piano, which makes it easier to hear how the tuning (not the tuner!) sounds in the treble, and the general sound quality of the individual pianos.
If you’re listening on your computer and have a ceiling fan, make sure you turn off the fan! I hope you enjoy listening to some of them.
