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Jonathan the 2nd

This trick may be useful for you . I tried it just today. One or two harsh notes had a cross between a twang and a miaow. I used a piece of black felt for this. I teased the black felt fibres out of the edge with an old wood sanding tool .(Metal bonded to plastic ). It has minute teeth and is a bit ...

Jonathan the 2nd

That question came from doodling on a piano years ago. It`s not music as such. One musical effect I am fond of is in the start of Don Giovanni. The first chord is played for a few seconds then joined by much lower notes. The original notes stop and leave the lowest notes as if looking into a massive...

Jonathan the 2nd

Well I drew the chords on an envelope and heard the sounds. Quite a lot of drama in the third version. Once I got my fingers in the right place. If I did a 2 year music course I would just about manage those chords by the final week. I will need to develop a pruning system for short fingers . Is the...

Jonathan the 2nd

Just in case there`s a difference , is toning the same as voicing ? In a three string note are all the strings separate items or do two of them run down and back up again. I`ve never looked closely enough , but is there a hole through the tuning pin or is it just wrapped tightly ? I think the square...

Jonathan the 2nd

I started again here as it`s technical hammer material. The B note has a whining ringing sound shortly after tuning . It had it before too .Obviously it`s not a tuning effect. I shall treat myself to a full voicing service when my tuner comes round. Balancing all the physical adjustments and then bl...

Jonathan the 2nd

This question may need moving , but the other headings don`t seem right. Are there certain sounds that tuners recognise that point to work needed on the hammers?

Jonathan the 2nd

Thanks for an amazing explanation. I never knew that happened without a key signature change. It`s the right music. That modulation feels as if a cold or cool shadow passes over the music just briefly , if I can say it that way .

Jonathan the 2nd

The Mazurka is Op 59 No 4 in A minor. Line 3 , bar 14 and 15.
14 is E ,A , G#linked to bar 15 starting with A flat etc. but no change of key signature.

Jonathan the 2nd

I`m not doing too badly then. I play slowly at present to establish the geography of the keyboard. I don`t try music that might confuse me at this stage although my ears guide to with the Chopin pieces .Mostly the Bach 48 Preludes set me problems I can handle . In the first Bach Prelude I play each ...

Jonathan the 2nd

As a newbie to playing I am not really clear about what bad habits are. Apart from sitting the right distance away and elbows at the correct height relative to the keys I may need a few pointers. Oh , and curved fingers. I forgot that one. I know those are good habits in case you thought otherwise.

Jonathan the 2nd

Bach first Prelude from the Book of 48 is demonstrated in 3 Kirnberger temperaments and also Equal Tuning on Klassik Label Theory and Sounds . Overall the ET produces a bland uninteresting sound. The lower notes in Kirnberger 1 have all sorts going on and it sounds much brighter in the high notes to...

Jonathan the 2nd

Ok .Thanks .

Jonathan the 2nd

Very good background information about ET versus Kirnberger is found on Klassiklabel Theory and Sounds . Demonstrations comparing chords and tunings are well done.

Jonathan the 2nd

It reminds me of the day my workmate gave me a lift in his Austin Maxi car with it`s leather seats. He liked to drive round corners so you slid sideways along the seat .That made him smile. A Maxi was described as a Shed on Wheels.

Jonathan the 2nd

I don`t think my question got it`s target first time. The Ellington clip showed him swing his right elbow sideways to the right for a fast run down the keys. But here`s another elbow question for you. In a basic learner situation the first Bach prelude of the 48 makes me play treble clef notes low e...

Jonathan the 2nd

Well fancy that. It reminds me to ask about a similar subject. A tuner once said that he did not want each string in a unison group to be pitched identically the same as the other two. He said it sounded warmer and more musical .

Jonathan the 2nd

Is that a wind up answer? What`s the science behind the left and right string then?

Jonathan the 2nd

Easy question time for tuners. In a piano when the unisons have a string drifting out of tune , is there a certain point where it sound a lot worse . Above or below it won`t sound in tune but is there a "nails down the blackboard " feeling at one particular stage .

Jonathan the 2nd

My big event this week. I had the right hand full with a chord and had to reach across and play one note higher with my left hand. "Just like they do on tv ,I thought. Just like Sokolov ." Simple pleasures. For me that was a First .

Jonathan the 2nd

I enjoyed that . TV presenters should be like that. There `s far too much smiling going on these days. Who do they think they are? It`s almost as good as the Lego Star Wars video { Death Star Canteen }. In the Tuning Lego World a tuner would be Darth Vader. Any bad forum question would receive the s...

Jonathan the 2nd

I wondered if playing the highest and lowest notes came first but if a middle note moves from natural to flat I need to hear the alteration. It`s all good to be using the left hand more.

Jonathan the 2nd

The question of notes drifting out of tune soon after a large ( semitone overall ) rise in pitch was explored on another forum. They dissaproved of amateur attempts to clean up some unisons, and one contributor suggested damping down (not with water ) the twangyest strings before the tuner arrived w...

Jonathan the 2nd

This next question may pop up in another place quite soon. I have slightly short hands for the piano so is there a way to edit some of the chords to avoid losing the musical content ? If I cannot physically reach all the notes at the same time is there an accepted way to work round the problem? No p...

Jonathan the 2nd

The Bach book of 48 is excellent for learning the piano. The very first prelude reaches down just below the bass stave and Bach presents little problems for you to solve as you expand into the pieces.If a gap is greater than an octave he leaves enough room for you to work out the way to play the not...

Jonathan the 2nd

I was in two minds on the second day of this topic to add a question mark in the title. I may still try that. By coincidence I landed on the other piano forum and looked up advice about whether a trill should be a tone or semitone interval and whether there was a rule about trills I found myself rea...

Jonathan the 2nd

I was fascinated to see the way small magnets ,attracting and repelling ,are being used to bypass the lead weights. The best one is the use of magnets to relieve pressure on the leather pads to reduce friction by about 20%. Very cool.

Jonathan the 2nd

Thanks Colin. I saw a video that compared the sounds between a single octave and a double octave where you start to hear some beats on the double.That fills in my doubts about what stretched tuning should sound like. (On a good day ). Plenty to chew on in your post. The tuner did let me know the dra...

Jonathan the 2nd

The note that first drew my attention was the C 6 that sounded sharp. The note below ,which should be a B sounded just right as the octave of C5. If you play octave note should you hear them as sharp?

Jonathan the 2nd

Thanks Colin .I am more in tune with you on this one . I knew it had drifted low after my daughter was not using it. I may be hearing the octaves wrong with the stretch tuning. In the top end , should there be a sharpness in the higher note when comparing octaves ? I was fully expecting some complic...

Jonathan the 2nd

Yes because it was all raised a semitone plus the Kirnberger. This morning I checked to see how that had a knockon effect and the lowest is A6 flat compared to A5. I only used one octave comparisons . I think I could hear how the stretch worked between the notes . The pairs of notes sounded in tune ...

Jonathan the 2nd

I was watching a Josh Wright video yesterday ( fantastic teacher ) and he explains a lot about trills. I had the wrong idea that it was about raising the fingers high and fast. It should be minimising the height of fingers and not using adjacent fingers. Avoid the weaker fingers too. Also there is a...

Jonathan the 2nd

Have the tuners here ever made a gaff in their tuning? I am new to learning so I don`t go far up the keyboard yet. I had the piano tuned in January . But I have just noticed the note counting up from middle C , 3 octaves is not a C at all. That note comes up on the B note. A good solid in tune octav...

Jonathan the 2nd

Piano playing may become easier now that tiny powerful magnets are being used to replace the action of some of the lead weights. Pianos can injure a lot of players according to some reports. I saw a very good piano teacher on youtube advising about trills. He said not to keep raising the fingers any...

Jonathan the 2nd

I am practising Fur Elise which is a standard piece for learners. In the many (ET) videos on the net the first note which is often repeated sounds distinctly sharp . Some are on Grand pianos with soloists in concert dress. My Kirnberger temp doesn`t sound out of tune.

Jonathan the 2nd

I shall write that list out. Lots of good things in there. I might need a list of bad habits too. I don`t know what they are.

Jonathan the 2nd

It might help to focus on what happens in the bass stave where the notes overlap onto the treble stave.The notes just around middle C can confuse you until you sort it all out.It`s feels as if there are many notes drifting around in the gap between treble and bass. But middle C is really the only no...

Jonathan the 2nd

I`m very new to reading music with a keyboard. Not new to reading music itself though . Mainly I have been using the right hand . I am getting used to the bass stave although it all seems to be used with the right hand. I think it may be time to play everything with the left hand for a few weeks. Th...

Jonathan the 2nd

I watched a Duke Ellington film this week and realised how much the elbows need to move around to help the hand positions. Is there a method for that or is it just random?

Jonathan the 2nd

The long running argument about Bach`s tuning preferences always pivots around a right or wrong question. More like a proof of historical fact or fiction. But my acid test right here and now is ; is it more beautiful to me ? So my answer is Yes .To me the unequal temperament I am using sounds more i...

Jonathan the 2nd

3 Interesting answers.

Jonathan the 2nd

I`ve missed out some questions here. My daughter was the player in our house for some years. Then she moved away .After a long gap I ,recently ,decided to learn to play. The first ,local , tuner took a very long time to reply. He then only quoted a price for ET and did not answer my question about K...

Jonathan the 2nd

Let me resusitate the topic for a while. If you want to develop "Finger Muscles" which are actually forearm muscles working the fingers via tendons then you should buy a muscle toner. ( About £10 when I bought mine ) .They will very quickly develop the correct muscles that work the fingers...

Jonathan the 2nd

That sounds fascinating. I`ve found a youtube site that delves into Temperaments and I still have to listen to them.It has some Gershwin with an unequal temperament . That will find it . One thing I seem to notice is fast beats that make a shimmery effect. Certain chords do that almost to be noticed...

Jonathan the 2nd

What do you think of the sound of the new ones on their home site ? You probably have a good ear for different types .

Jonathan the 2nd

What year did they change over ? Tuners have to deal with anything made for many years to come. It must make you gnash your teeth.

Jonathan the 2nd

Ah you`re a hard man mdw.

Jonathan the 2nd

I e mailed a local tuner for a historical tuning and he said he only did Equal Temperaments. Now I read that Equal Temperaments are more difficult to tune than historicals. So would the refusal to do a historical tuning indicate something useful for me? (A humble learner who accepts the value of a t...

Jonathan the 2nd

I am trying to find the place to ask a new question but this will do for now. It mentions Petrof Pianos here . I read that they have long (or short ? ) term (10 year ?) reliability problems. I heard a sound sample of the Kreutzer Sonata on their home site and was really impressed with the tone. If y...

Jonathan the 2nd

Thanks .Very helpful.

Jonathan the 2nd

Thanks Colin and Gill. It`s a Hohner uprihght made in Finland about 20 years ago. With the new Kirnberger temperament it has a much nicer tone. Best thing I ever did getting that tune up. My old Casio is useful for note comparison but early electric pianos were really horrendous for tone.I realised ...

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