{"id":1816,"date":"2014-05-15T11:37:06","date_gmt":"2014-05-15T03:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/?p=1816"},"modified":"2021-09-19T21:11:06","modified_gmt":"2021-09-19T13:11:06","slug":"history-of-piano-tuning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1816","title":{"rendered":"History of Piano Tuning"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"kad-wp-gallery589\" class=\"kad-wp-gallery gallery kt-gallery-column-3 init-isotope-intrinsic reinit-isotope kad-light-wp-gallery clearfix rowtight\" data-fade-in=\"1\" data-iso-selector=\".g_item\" data-iso-style=\"masonry\" data-iso-filter=\"false\"><div class=\"tcol-lg-4 tcol-md-4 tcol-sm-4 tcol-xs-6 tcol-ss-12 g_item\"><div class=\"grid_item kt_item_fade_in kad_gallery_fade_in gallery_item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/logosmall.png\" data-rel=\"lightbox\" class=\"lightboxhover\"><div class=\"kt-intrinsic\" style=\"padding-bottom:93.264248704663%;\"><div itemprop=\"image\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img width=\"193\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/logosmall.png\"   data-caption=\" Pianoforte Tuners&#039; Association (UK)\" class=\"light-dropshaddow\" itemprop=\"contentUrl\" alt=\"\"><meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/logosmall.png\"><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"193px\"><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"180px\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"caption kad_caption\"><div class=\"kad_caption_inner\"> Pianoforte Tuners&#8217; Association (UK)<\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><div class=\"tcol-lg-4 tcol-md-4 tcol-sm-4 tcol-xs-6 tcol-ss-12 g_item\"><div class=\"grid_item kt_item_fade_in kad_gallery_fade_in gallery_item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/RPTEmblem.png\" data-rel=\"lightbox\" class=\"lightboxhover\"><div class=\"kt-intrinsic\" style=\"padding-bottom:98.8%;\"><div itemprop=\"image\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img width=\"250\" height=\"247\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/RPTEmblem.png\"   data-caption=\"Piano Technicians Guild (USA)\" class=\"light-dropshaddow\" itemprop=\"contentUrl\" alt=\"\"><meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/RPTEmblem.png\"><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"250px\"><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"247px\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"caption kad_caption\"><div class=\"kad_caption_inner\">Piano Technicians Guild (USA)<\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>PREFACE<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<h5>It was while tuning an elderly upright piano that the possibility of electing piano tuners as a theme for academic study suggested itself to me: I noticed, scrawled on the hammer rest rail of the piano action, the initials and tuning dates of about twenty piano tuners who had worked on this piano over its long life.\u00a0 There was nothing unusual in finding such a date &#8211; they are commonly found when tuning and over the course of fifteen years as a professional tuner I had seen plenty of them.\u00a0 What had engaged my attention was the fact that I was tuning this piano one hundred years to the very day in 1892 that &#8216;R.W.F.&#8217; had carried out that same task.\u00a0 This set me thinking about R.W.F.\u00a0 Who had he been?\u00a0 Where had he lived?\u00a0 How had he obtained that job? \u00a0 How had he travelled around? \u00a0 Why had he become a tuner? \u00a0 Had he even been a &#8216;he&#8217;?<\/h5>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h5>My curiosity piqued, I went home to look up information on piano tuners&#8217; lives in the 1890s &#8230; and found nothing.\u00a0 I transferred my search to local libraries and the Internet, still to no avail.\u00a0 Whilst there was plenty of information on the design, construction, tuning, sale and playing of pianos, there was little on the people behind the instrument. \u00a0 More painstaking research revealed information on piano designers, builders, salesmen and pianists, but there was still little to be found on the tuners, and this made me determined to find out what I could about the &#8216;missing persons&#8217; of piano history.\u00a0 E.P. Thompson, the social historian, has written of the:<\/h5>\n<h5>orthodoxy of the empirical economic historians in which working people are seen as a labour force, as migrants, or as the data for statistical series: [The historians] tend to obscure the agency of working people, the degree to which they contributed by conscious efforts, to the making of history &#8230; Only the successful &#8230; are remembered.<\/h5>\n<h5>I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who helped me in my research: Professor Cyril Ehrlich; Dr Alastair Laurence; Mr John Collard; Mr Martin Heckscher of Heckscher and Co. Ltd.; Mr Steve and Mr Chris Cook of Fletcher and Newman Ltd.; Ms Elizabeth Dawson, consultant archivist to the Royal National Institute for the Blind; Mr John Morley of Morley&#8217;s of Lewisham, Mrs Esm\u00e9 Haily; Mr Ian Pleeth; Mrs Valerie Addis and the Piano Tuners Association; Mr Blaise Compton; Mrs Senior; Mr Bill Kibby; Mrs Wells; Mr Paul Tucker; the Surrey Local History Centre; Mr Gifford, Ms Lucy Coad; Mr Martin Ness; Mr Mel Smith of the Music Trades Benevolent Fund, Ms E Parsons; Mr G Carter and, of course, Mr E Green.<\/h5>\n<h5>I have concentrated on the period 1837-1913 as it covers the &#8216;boom&#8217; in piano ownership and development, while the First World War&#8217;s consequent loss of life meant the closure of many hitherto successful piano firms.\u00a0 Also, the founding of the Piano Tuners Association in 1913 meant that a hitherto disparate and isolated group of people suddenly had some organisation and cohesion, and their years of being &#8216;invisible&#8217; had come to an end.<\/h5>\n<div class=\"embedsocial-album\" data-ref=\"2efb38a7fc6f62b3c4801229582c88067788faba\"><a class=\"feed-powered-by-es\" title=\"Powered by EmbedSocial\" href=\"https:\/\/embedsocial.com\/facebook-albums\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Powered by EmbedSocial\u2192<\/a><\/div>\n<p><script>(function(d, s, id){var js; if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = \"https:\/\/embedsocial.com\/embedscript\/ei.js\"; d.getElementsByTagName(\"head\")[0].appendChild(js);}(document, \"script\", \"EmbedSocialScript\"));<\/script><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>CONTENT<\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><a title=\"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PIANO\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1695\"><b>THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PIANO<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n<h4><a title=\"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 A NEED FOR TUNERS\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1700\"><b>A NEED FOR TUNERS<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n<h4><a title=\"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 SOCIAL STANDING\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1708\"><b>SOCIAL STANDING<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n<h4><a title=\"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 TRAINING AND APPRENTICESHIPS\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1725\"><b>TRAINING AND APPRENTICESHIPS<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n<h4><a title=\"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1740\"><b>BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><a title=\"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 THE TRAINED TUNER\u2019S WORK\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1758\">THE TRAINED TUNER&#8217;S WORK<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><a title=\"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 DEMAND AND DO-IT-YOURSELF\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1783\"><b>DEMAND AND DO-IT-YOURSELF<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n<h4><a title=\"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 THE PIANO TUNER\u2019S JOB\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1786\"><b>THE PIANO TUNER&#8217;S JOB<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n<h4><a title=\"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1793\"><b>TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n<h4><a title=\"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 PITCH\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1800\"><b>PITCH<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n<h4><a title=\"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 TUNING MONOPOLIES AND REGULATION\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1803\"><b>TUNING MONOPOLIES AND REGULATION<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n<h4><b><a title=\"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 Tuner\u2019s Associations\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1806\">TUNER&#8217;S ASSOCIATIONS<\/a><br \/>\n<\/b><\/h4>\n<h4><a title=\"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 TUNING AND THE BLIND\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1810\"><b>TUNING AND THE BLIND<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n<h4><a title=\"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 WOMEN TUNERS\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1814\"><b>WOMEN TUNERS<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n<hr \/>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>CONCLUSION<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<h5>When I first broached the subject of piano tuners with Professor Cyril Ehrlich, his reply was that &#8216;mostly they were not the sort of articulate, or self-important, people who have documentation &#8230; [they] were unlike all sorts of people whose legacy of words influences historians (or at least antiquarians), regardless of their importance.\u00a0 So the historian must somehow contrive to catch the unspoken, on the run, so to speak&#8217;.<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.piano-tuners.org\/history\/piano-tuner-history.html#_ftn134\" name=\"_ftnref134\"><br \/>\n<\/a><\/h5>\n<h5>Sighted tuners from the Victorian age have left us with a little codification in the shape of the odd treatise or pamphlet on tuning, but other than that the reliance is upon firms&#8217; records. \u00a0 The majority of piano firms were concentrated in the London area, particularly after World War I, and most of their records were lost in the Blitz of World War II.\u00a0 Chappell&#8217;s were one of the exceptions to this, but then had a major fire in the 1960s and lost their piano factory records and a large proportion of their sheet music archive at the same time.<\/h5>\n<h5>Events have therefore conspired to keep the world of the piano tuner a faintly mysterious one, but I hope this work has done a little towards redressing the lack of information on the subject of piano tuners, and that I have in a small way &#8216;caught the unspoken, on the run&#8217;.<\/h5>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>From:\u00a0Gill Green MA<\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon-text sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-1816\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1816?share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-twitter-1816\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1816?share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-jetpack-whatsapp\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-jetpack-whatsapp sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1816?share=jetpack-whatsapp\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on WhatsApp\"><span>WhatsApp<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-linkedin\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-linkedin-1816\" class=\"share-linkedin sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1816?share=linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on LinkedIn\"><span>LinkedIn<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-email\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-email sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1816?share=email\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to email this to a friend\"><span>Email<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-print\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-print sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1816\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to print\"><span>Print<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PREFACE It was while tuning an elderly upright piano that the possibility of electing piano tuners as a theme for &hellip; <a class=\"kt-excerpt-readmore\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1816\" aria-label=\"History of Piano Tuning\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon-text sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-1816\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1816?share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-twitter-1816\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1816?share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-jetpack-whatsapp\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-jetpack-whatsapp sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1816?share=jetpack-whatsapp\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on WhatsApp\"><span>WhatsApp<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-linkedin\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-linkedin-1816\" class=\"share-linkedin sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1816?share=linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on LinkedIn\"><span>LinkedIn<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-email\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-email sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1816?share=email\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to email this to a friend\"><span>Email<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-print\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-print sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1816\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to print\"><span>Print<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"spay_email":""},"categories":[88,58],"tags":[1756,2001,1466,1952,2011,78,2009,947,32,91,2012,1084,1969,1945,10,410,1946,1947,2010,142,181,12,13,70,24,2004,1960,943],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4ik8h-ti","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1803,"url":"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1803","url_meta":{"origin":1816,"position":0},"title":"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 TUNING MONOPOLIES AND REGULATION","date":"May 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"By 1887 Broadwoods were in trouble for excluding tuners who were not employed by them or their agents; Messrs Broadwood admit that they send out men through the country to tune their own pianos ...\u00a0 Messrs Broadwood believe that in certain country districts their pianos have been improperly tuned to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;English Articles&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1814,"url":"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1814","url_meta":{"origin":1816,"position":1},"title":"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 WOMEN TUNERS","date":"May 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"It will be noticed that no mention has thus far been made of women who tuned pianos - either professionally or just for themselves: and it is probable that the reader has thought nothing of the fact.\u00a0 After all, one would not expect to hear of women piano tuners in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;English Articles&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1786,"url":"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1786","url_meta":{"origin":1816,"position":2},"title":"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 THE PIANO TUNER&#8217;S JOB","date":"May 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Although the term 'piano tuner' has been used almost exclusively heretofore, the job entailed far more than simply tuning pianos.\u00a0 Some clavichords and harpsichords were still in existence in 1838, although the Victorian obsession with invention and innovation almost rendered both instruments extinct: they were saved only by the efforts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;English Articles&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1758,"url":"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1758","url_meta":{"origin":1816,"position":3},"title":"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 THE TRAINED TUNER&#8217;S WORK","date":"May 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The larger London piano houses produced many pianos, all of which needed to be strung, chipped up and then fine-tuned, and at the height of the 1850s and 60s boom there were between 60,000 and 100,000\u00a0pianos made in London alone, so a huge number of tunings was required in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;English Articles&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1839,"url":"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1839","url_meta":{"origin":1816,"position":4},"title":"Tuning Hammers, Levers, or Keys","date":"May 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Tuning hammers for tuners are like bats for baseball players: the smallest difference in weight, leverage, or shape is significant.\u00a0 The way the socket fits on the pin (how the diameter taper profile of the socket matches that of\u00a0 the tuning pin) matters greatly.\u00a0 There exists a noticeable variation in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;English Articles&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1700,"url":"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/1700","url_meta":{"origin":1816,"position":5},"title":"History of Piano Tuning \u2013 A NEED FOR TUNERS","date":"May 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Prior to the advent of the piano, most musicians tuned their own instruments. \u00a0 This was a necessary part of owning one; to call someone in to tune a harpsichord would have been as preposterous an idea as calling someone in to tune a violin for a professional violinist. \u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;English Articles&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1816"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1816\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tongtuning.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}