Piano Tuning: A Simple and Accurate Method for Amateurs (Dover Books on Music) [Paperback]

J. Cree Fischer (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dover Books on Music | Publication Date: June 1, 1975

Learn a very simple, professional method for tuning with 17 lessons. The author, who taught at a piano tuning school, explains how to use basic tuning tools to correct a few notes or an entire piano. Repairs include fixes for sticky keys and adjustments to bottoms, capstans, hammer stems, and more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (June 1, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486232670
• ISBN-13: 978-0486232676
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #588,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A few good ideas, but outdated and misleading, December 29, 1999

By 

Ken Walker (Sacramento, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Piano Tuning: A Simple and Accurate Method for Amateurs (Dover Books on Music) (Paperback)

This probably was a good book in 1907, but too much has changed for it to be valuable now. The author's repeated references to square pianos, "international" vs. "concert" tuning frequencies, and tuning to C-517.3 are comically antiquated.

I appreciate a mathematical approach to tuning, but the discussions in chapters 8-14 are a clumsy attempt to explain concepts that someone with a decent mathematics and music background can easily calculate -- that the ratio between adjacent notes is the 12th root of 2; and that chord, interval, and beat relationships can be derived from that ratio. A modern calculator makes much of this book completely pointless.

The author's math sequences are cumbersome, and his conclusions are sometimes wrong. His beat frequency calculations are not always correct. The beat frequency of his C-128 to G-191.78 combination should be .44 Hz., not .66 as he calculates. A simpler and more correct way to calculate the beat frequency of a 5th interval is to subtract the 2nd harmonic (2 X 191.78) of the higher string from the 3rd harmonic of the lower (3 X 128).

The discussion on where/how to place mutes is helpful, as are the points about taking proper steps to ensure the validity of piano hardware before tuning. Also, the method of setting temperament by 5th and octave steps is useful.

In summary, if you have enough math and music experience to see through the dated material, the cumbersome derivations, and the false conclusions, this book gives a few helpful tips. I would not recommend it to most tuning amateurs, however.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars So THAT'S how they do it!, August 10, 2000

By 

bill price (Northern Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Piano Tuning: A Simple and Accurate Method for Amateurs (Dover Books on Music) (Paperback)

I first read this book in 1973, after which I tuned--and tempered--a piano. What a kick! The book is old, but so are vibrations. I found the math to be un-necessary unless I chose to follow the author's logic or "play" with the figures. I recently re-read the book because I had forgotten the ideas behind "just" and "compromise" temperament. I found what I wanted, then continued to re-read the whole book again--though I skimmed over parts I remembered.

If you want to become a piano tuner, you should either apprentice with one, or take a mail-order course offered in a detective magazine. If you want to know how it's done--and might like to try tuning your old upright for the sheer joy of it--this is your book--but don't touch grandma's Steinway, okay?

Dover publishes a lot of old books, many of which have reverted to "public domain" and don't require royalty payments. That's no sin, and it's clearly reflected in their prices. As Will Shakespeare might say, "There are still a few old books worth reading." Thanks, Dover.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can really do it! Learn how to tune a piano, September 10, 2001

By 

Claus Hetting (Gentofte, Copenhagen Denmark) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Piano Tuning: A Simple and Accurate Method for Amateurs (Dover Books on Music) (Paperback)

This book is ancient, I think from the early 20th century, but still holds true and is an excellent and straight forward resource. As a pianist, it has been a revelation to understand how it is done, and even more fun to actually achieve a reasonable tuning myself (with a little help from my professional piano tuning friend.. OK, so I cheated a little...!). Highly recommended. To make life a little easier, I recommend getting a quality electronic (chromatic) tuner to tune the middle octave, after that use the octaves and 5ths to do the rest.
Full marks to Dover - again. They provide a great collection of classics on music, especially piano related stuff. I think I have perhaps 5-6 books by this publisher.