LESSON XVII.
CONCLUDING PROFESSIONAL HINTS.
Peculiar incidents occur in the experience of the piano tuner, some of which have come under the observation of the author so frequently that he deems it advisable to mention them here; there are incidents also that happen once in a life-time which must be treated in their time with tact and good judgment, and which it is impossible to describe here, as each tuner, in his special field, will elicit new developments. Occasion often requires the tuner to summon all his wits and tact in order to dispose of questions put to him, both by pianos and owners.
Among the perplexing things that come to the tuner are the terms used by musicians and piano owners to express certain qualities of tone and certain discrepancies of the instrument. We will define a number of these.
Brilliant. The sense in which this term is used is astonishing to one who is accustomed to using words according to their dictionary meanings. We have heard persons say their piano was too brilliant; or, that it was not brilliant enough. They mean this term to apply to what we are pleased to call the voice of the instrument. When the hammers are hard, producing a sharp, penetrating tone, they call it brilliant; when the hammers are soft and produce what a trained ear would accept as a soft, sweet, musical tone, some persons will say that the instrument lacks brilliancy. Persons of a different taste, and, we would say, a more cultured ear, call the tone harsh when the hammers are hard, and they usually desire the tuner to soften the tone, which he does by softening the hammer ends as has been described in Lesson VII. This operation, which we call voicing, is a very delicate piece of work, and the tuner should exercise care and pains in doing it; so we will deviate from the trend of the discourse and offer a few directions here, as the previous instructions are hardly complete.
Insert the felt pick (which should contain only one point, and not three or four, as they usually do) in the point of the hammer and give it a rotary motion, so to speak, loosening up the felt and giving it its original elasticity. Do not pick up the felt at the point. This method, which is resorted to by many tuners, is injurious to the hammers and really does no permanent good. Another method which is very good, and a very easy one, is to take your parallel pliers and squeeze the felt slightly at the point. Apply the pliers at right angles with the hammer (if the action of the upright, your pliers will be in an upright position) and catch the hammer at a depth of about three-quarters of the thickness of the felt. If the hammers are very hard it may be well to use both the pliers and the pick; but care must always be taken not to get the hammers too soft, and extreme care must be taken not to get some softer than others. Some hammers are always used more than others and, of course, these will need more softening. Usually those at the extreme ends of the instrument will need no softening at all, but sometimes the bass will bear considerable softening. After going over them in the above way, try them by playing the chromatic scale and you will invariably find some that need additional attention. Be sure that no hard tone is left, as such a condition is a great annoyance to a delicate ear.