Glossary
Every business, it seems, has its own language. Hopefully this glossary will help you translate what your piano technician is saying.
Action:
The guts of the piano, the action is all of the moving parts that make a hammer strike the strings.
Beats:
Beats are what piano technicians are listening for when tuning a piano. The sound waves of differing notes create audible waves which the
technician manipulates (speeds up or slows down) by raising or lowering a pitch to achieve a well-tempered piano.
Cent:
A division of the space between notes. Specifically 1/100th of a half step (i.e. A to A#).
Partials:
Partials are also known as overtones. If you listen closely they are the pitches that are also audible when you play a certain note. The two most
obvious are the octave (8th) and the 12th above the fundamental pitch.
Pitch Raise:
Pianos that haven't been tuned for a while sometimes drop in pitch. A pitch raise is then necessary before a regular tuning
in order to increase the string tension across the entire piano. If one tried to fine tune the piano without first doing a pitch raise the tuning would hold no more than a week or so.
Regulation:
Adjusting the many parts of the piano action to attain the perfect relationship between key travel and hammer travel. This can include shaping
or realigning hammers, rebalancing keys or any number of adjustments to the many moving parts of the action.
Standard Tuning:
A standard tuning includes an "in case" cleaning, overall inspection, and tuning.
Temperament:
The temperament is the 13 to 17 notes in the middle of the piano that a technician first tunes. This has to be done in order to compromise the
differing frequenies of the notes so that every interval is pleasing to the ear. He or she then uses this temperament as the basis for tuning the rest of the piano.
Undercoating:
Fictitious. Don't let anyone try to sell you this!
Is there a word you've heard that isn't on the list? Send it here.