How accurate are unisons?

[Jonathan the 2nd]

Simple question for a tuner. If a new inexperienced player needs to check the unisons , because he is by nature very curious and suspicious ,it can be interesting to press the damper pedal and use a small piece of plastic to twang the separate strings. Should they all sound the same in one double or treble note ? If there is a difference at all is that ok ? Also-- What is the Weinreich effect ? Can you tell what to expect when you just play a note , before you test the separate strings ,just by the way a note fades and changes as it fades ?

[Jonathan the 2nd]

The plastic plectrum was a square of polypropylene folded over to leave a corner sticking out .Then a hot iron melted the centre in position.

[Jonathan the 2nd]

In case the question sounds too theoretical I did check the string groups and to my ears there are only 3 piano notes in the whole piano that I would leave alone if I was tuning a violin or guitar . They are the main C note . C# above and the E above that . All other notes were listed with a cross on a page of my notebook with 3 or 4 of the worst underlined. So it was not my imagination. I was not expecting a page full when I started . Fairly close to accurate sounds more out of tune than well out of tune. Does that make sense ?

[Gill the Piano]

God, I'm glad I don't tune your piano! When I was first taught to tune, we had to pluck the strings with a piece of ivory on a strung back (ie, a naked piano) and when we were competent at that we graduated to a piano. The implication there would be that it was easier to hear a plucked string than a struck one.
But why don't you just listen to the music you're making instead of just the sound? I can play an out of tune piano/organ because I'm listening to the music. You're doing the equivalent of reading Shakespeare and worrying about the quality of the print...as long as it's legible why worry about trivialities? Stop being so forensic and enjoy yourself!

[Jonathan the 2nd]

As a late beginner the sound of chords is what interests me more than banging out a tune. I play Chopin and Bach mainly slowly ,which is good to learn pieces anyway , so I am not really your average learner in that way. I can read music . My thumbs and one finger are getting creaky . Savouring the sounds is what it`s about . Think of a good tailor feeling the lapel of your jacket. "Lovely material my boy ". That reminds me of a Jewish joke I heard last month. A Jewish lady walking along and an old guy pulls his pants open to expose himself. She looks down imperiously and says "You call that a lining ??"

[Gill the Piano]

...and the Jewish chap who fell off a bus in London and was seen to sit up in the road and cross himself. The concerned conductor was also confused. 'I thought you were Jewish?' 'I am.' 'But you crossed yourself.'
'I certainly did not - I was checking: spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch...'
Obviously a very old joke, but I like it!

[Jonathan the 2nd]

Anyway. My piano still has the list of casualties written on a sheet on the piano.A circle around 3 lonely notes that have a solid one note sound. All the rest have some kind of slow beating or drifting going on when played. Not good enough . We had windows changed last year.The surrounding frames were put in wonky. New central heating fitted. The plumber hacked through the pipes and threw away the electrical cross bonding. I had to make him replace that . Classed as a serious electrical fault otherwise . Stainless steel pipe tubes fitted up the chimney . Leaning the ladder on the guttering they broke a hole in the gutters. At least they mended it .Professionals . What can you do with them?

[Bill Kibby]

There is no such thing as a damper pedal - it UNDAMPS.