There are 2 books I’ve been reading lately, one new and one not so new. The Voice of the Piano by Andre Oorebeek is a welcome addition to the sparse list of books on piano technology. This book is a very clear and thorough examination of the process of high end piano voicing, which concentrates (but is not limited to) manipulating the shape and density of the felt of piano hammers. Oorebeek brings some light to an area that has traditionally been considered a black art, mainly because it is so hard to talk about. Even with his clear description of techniques, it really doesn’t mean anything if you can’t hear the progress and results. However it holds a lot for experienced technicians as well as piano lovers who are interested in their instruments. Next, to be clear, I really do read this kind of stuff. Virgil Smith has long

I’ve owned a Reyburn Cyber Tuner for the last year. Pretty cool little device and very informative to let you know what is going on when one tunes a piano. I’m far from being one of those egg head electronic tuners that are so common at the conventions, but have gotten a little way into it. One observation: the standard tunings that come in these things stretch the octaves way too much for my ear. I think it  is really the drift in the country towards the loud, harsh sound you hear so often. I just don’t think the octaves on a concert grand should beat…it’s just not natural or musical. When I check my aural octaves to the standard tuning in the RCT, I’m flat by a very consistent, and very small amount. Must be my Viennese training. I took Ferdinand Braeu, the Bosendorfer technical director to see a