Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-02-14

Asylum Lodge, |. Q. o. f., Patriarch of
the Encampment and for long time
secretary of Augusta Lodge of Ma
| sons. He IS also n member of High
land Lodge, A. o. t. w, the American
Benefit Society. member of the Alb
MAXI club, also of the kcnnebec His
| torical Society.
Mr.. Smith has always found great
pleasure in the study of astronomy.
He was at one time a member of tie
Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
but has recently dropped from the
| membership of the club, being now
unable to attend the meetings. All
who take the least interest in astron-
omy. know that Mr.. Smith is one of the
best posted men on the subject in the
State, being the possessor of the sec
ond largest telescope in the State, the
largest, which is owned at BoWdoln
ing his spare hours, he has made a
study of astronomy. and many an IN
teresting article upon the subject has
been published from his pen. His pur-
suit of the science is merely for the
love of it, and for no other purpose.
Can any one learn to tune piano?
asked the ihquistive.
"Why yes to certain extent. an
swered Mr.. Smith. That is they can
learn the mechanical part, but in order
to become successful they must have
very fine ear. that the least difference
in the vibrations of the notes can be
detected to il certainty. There are tuners
and tuners, upon the road. who under
stand the mechanical part perfectly, and
can tune to a certain extent. but the en-
ployment of such men is usually very
unsatisfactory First class men do not
usually make practice of travelling
about from state to state.
Many people, in fact most people. do
not understand how difficult 1t is to tune
a piano to perfection, neither do they
understand how 1t is done Not long ago
| was in a school at Gardiner, and upon
being questioned about it. explained
automatically the number of vihra-
lions in a certain key. the number of VI
brations in the string an octave below,
and how the difference in the two are di-
Vided among the other notes in the oc
tave. and how there are also five sharps
that have to be arranged for. They UNI
derstood the mathematical part all right,
but when it came to the practical part,
they have given the science their und-
Vided attention.
rs there any more work in tuning an
upright piano than there is in one of the
old-fashioncd square ones?'
"Yes, a great deal more. the tuning ot
an upright Is about the same as the tun
ing of grand. In the grand. and the
upright there are three strings to each
note until the last few bass notes are
reached when there are two strings and
finally one. OF course each of the three
strings of a note must be frightened to the
same tension. ana that requires consd
cradle work. and no small amount Of
| care. Then in an upright the action IS
50 much more complicated that it is quite
| Il task to keep them in good order and
Il good tuner pays as much attention to
the action. as to the wires. suppose
You know how we start the tuning of a
piano. We usually have Il tuning forh,
and by it we tune the key to which it
corresponds, and then the one an octave
below. from which the whole octave is
tuned and so on the whole is made to
correspond.
I..t.t hat mia 81
as long as it does in this changeable eli
mate. With the fearful strain that there
is on each wire and the readiness that
the metals used respond tn the changes
of heat and cold and by the way. how
many pounds do you suppose the strain
is upon the frame in which the screws
that hold the strings are set? ana ne
asked this with peculiar smile. that
betolened an idea that the reporter
would not come very near the right an
swcr. Now the reporter is not on the
most familiar terms with the piano. but
nevertheless he decided to set the eSti-
mate as high as possible and so hazard
ously said: Let me see. there are ST
keys. and at about $50 pounds to key
there would be about l20o0 pounds"
'Indt IS the nlSncSt estimate NAY E
received in years from people who don
know. and it is really "A commendablt-
guess" said Mr.. Smith. but still you are
slightly out of the way. The average
strain per key is 400 pounds. thus making
about 81 900 pounds strain. Just notice
the truss of solid steel upon which the
wires are strung. and knowing the i'm
mense strain that it has to bear do you
wonder that it is built on the rugged
lines that it is, and Furthermore do YOU
not wonder that the changes of heat
and cold do not affect it more? The
newspaper man was too bewildered to
wonder at anything.
lis it much of COB to tune an organ?
he asked.
"Of course it all depends upon the size,
and also upon the make. but take the
immense church organ for instance. ana
they often have to be tuned many not
being tuned half so often as they should.
it is like taking Il house to pieces, and
putting ii together again. Here is what
| is called Il tuning horn. made for me pl
grandilla-w wood. brought from the West
Indies by my father, who WAS a sea cap