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Harpsichords and Related Topics

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Subject:
From:
Andrew Bernard <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Harpsichords and Related Topics <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 21 Aug 2016 10:58:33 +0830
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Hi David,

I don’t know the algorithms that PitchLab uses. It may be filtering on the
fundamental, or it may not. It may be integrating the overtones. WIthout
access to the souce code there is no way to know. When a harpsichord string
is plucked the overtone spectrum rapidly changes with time, unlike an organ
where it is much more stable from the start. This is part of harpsichord
tone production, and is of course caused by the pluck. This does not mean
your instrument is overplucking. Even very lightly quilled instruments show
this. It is because of the initial displacement of the string which settles
down shortly after the initial attack.

Don’t use a tuning meter to judge overplucking., Use your fingers to sense
the force of the pluck, and your ears to hear the quality of the sound. A
tuning meter is not the right tool to determine if an instrument is over
plucking.

On the topic of the initial sharpness, this brings up a most interesting
point. I myself and other harpsichord tuners that I know tune on the
initial pluck, by repeatedly striking the notes in succession, rather than
striking the note and listening for a long time. I have always found this
technique produces a better sounding result. It’s possible that obsession
with fractional cent tuning accuracy is rendered somewhat moot by this
effect in harpsichords. What is the frequency of a note? It varies with
time in the initial stage. Of couse this is only small fractions of a
second. This gets back to the point that I repeatedly make on forums that
the ear integrates all these phenomena very well, but electronic devices
cannot, in general. I know this is complex, and controversial, and I have
not expressed it well.

Andrew


On 21 August 2016 at 4:26:37 AM, David Pickett ([log in to unmask]) wrote:


I use the rotating display which has the note name and +/- cents in
the middle, with the rotating strobe around this. I find that the
pitch is usually about 5 cents sharp at the beginning of the pluck
but settles down quickly. I tune to the settled down pitch; but I
have been wondering whether the sharpness indicates too strong a pluck.

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