Singing. When a damper is out of order and does not do its work properly, they often say the tone sings. They say the same thing about the reed organ when a pallet sticks or a key stays down. Sometimes this term is used to express the grating vibration which has been treated under the head of sympathetic rattle.
Tin-panny. This term is often used and generally means that the instrument is out of tune, and especially that the unisons are out. Sometimes it is used to express a hollow quality of tone; but you will rarely, if ever, hear a piano spoken of in this way if it is in correct tune. Any piano out of tune badly may be said to sound tin-panny.
Bass-ey. This term expresses a very harsh bass. Imperfect octaves or unisons in the bass of a piano give rise to the use of this term. If the bass of the instrument is decidedly flat, the same term is sometimes used to express the condition.
Harsh. This term, when it does not apply to the voice of the piano, generally reflects upon the work of the tuner (?). Chords are harsh when they contain over-sharp thirds, bad fifths, octaves, etc. Take care that your temperament contains no bad chords, and after you are all through, see that all tones have stood, and that you have left no bad unisons or octaves. One or two carelessly tuned tones may disparage your otherwise creditable work.
Questions. Questions are often asked the tuner concerning the care of the piano. Be prepared to answer any reasonable question that may come up, which your knowledge of the instrument should enable you to do. In regard to temperature, moisture, etc., an extreme either way is the thing to avoid. A very dry or hot atmosphere will crack the varnish, warp the wooden parts, crack the sound-board, cause parts to come unglued, etc. On the other hand, too much moisture will rust the steel parts, strings, etc.; so the "happy medium" is the condition to be desired. As to keeping pianos closed, a question you will often be asked, we think it is better to keep them open at all times than to keep them closed at all times; because, if they are kept open they are subjected to the changes of the atmosphere, which will rarely permit the piano to become either very damp or too dry. In a word, a room that is healthy for human beings is all right for the piano.
Seasons for Tuning. The prevalent idea in regard to this matter is that pianos should be tuned either at the beginning of cold or of warm weather. In our experience, we have found that it makes no difference when the piano is tuned if it is kept in the living room. If, however, a piano were tuned upon a warm day in the fall and then allowed to remain in a room in which the temperature suddenly fell to zero, we could not expect it to stand in tune; and much less, if the room is heated up occasionally and then left for an interval at the mercy of the weather. Persons who treat their pianos in this way should have them tuned about four times a year.
FOOTNOTES
[A] Published by Theodore Presser, Philadelphia, Pa.