I’ve read your comments and questions about Gilmore’s self tuning piano. For those of you who believe that it is somehow a kind of Holy Grail..well, you are entitled to your opinion. There is just so much out there about piano tuning that I think adding a “self tuning piano” to the mix just adds to that confusion.
I write this blog to educate about the relationship between tuning and music. Some time ago in an attempt to bring some light on the subject, I did a presentation on a variety of tunings used historically prior to the our modern “Equal Temperament.”I.e. “Well Temperament, Meantone, Just and Pythagorean tunings.” I suggest you “self tuning piano folks” watch it so you can gain a deeper appreciation for piano tuning in general. Then the question might become “self tuning piano” to what?
Technology is always trying to outdo great achievements. The modern piano is one of the greatest inventions of all time. Pianos requires input from human beings tuning or playing them. Why does that have to be improved upon? If you are looking for a real improvement, consider getting your piano re-tuned to a Well Temperament or perhaps a Modified Meantone Temperament and then play Beethoven, Chopin or Bach so you can hear what that music should and did sound like when it was composed. You can even play Jazz in these intonations.
Do you want a self tuning piano? There are tons of them already out there. They are called “electric keyboards.” If you want an acoustic self tuning piano you might have to wait a bit longer for that. As far as what happened to Gilmore’s piano? I believe it didn’t pass the muster.
