Wow, a visitor from the past! Grand Obsession is on my list of books to read. What a story and what an accomplishment, not only with regards to the piano but writing the memoir in a novel! Some of us newer PW members would love to have you around some more!

If anybody had known any of that at the beginning of my journey of course there would have been no problem--And no book.

But what is funny is the idea that there is something really called the Schubert concert tuning that the dealer or any tech would know about. As I think was pretty clear in the book, it was just something that Marc made up. I think you've forgotten most of what the story is about.

Oh i drop in once in a while. What inspired a visit this time is a very old friend of mine--someone i go back 30 years with--is in the midst of a piano search and she mentioned she's been hanging out here. Just trying to snoop on her.

What do you mean by he made it up? He just made up the name for a special tuning he used or it was an historical tuning or? In either case it seems like he could have told that to a tech in your area who could have duplicated the tuning. I was at a presentation you and Marc did at Beethoven pianos and I believe he referred to it as a Schubert tuning.

count myself among the many readers who found Grand Obsession informative and entertaining. quite a feat of non fiction in a specialized realm, made very accessible and vivid. the notion of 'schubert tuning' has intrigued me since. the tuner who worked on our vintage (pre-aeolian) mason & hamlin tunes solely by ear, not devices, and it's among the most colorful equal temperament tunings in my limited experience. schubert strikes me as potentially benefitting from a temperament that enhances his constant modulations. peace + namaste, Ms.Knize

I absolutely loved the book and I cannot believe I am getting to actually "meet" you.

You just never know who will be dropping by PW!

That's what we called it. But it's just a tuning Marc created for me when I told him I thought my piano would be perfect for Schubert. How on earth would he communicate to another tech what that was? It's something that only exists in his ear, in mine, and in the ears of the very few people who have actually heard it on my piano. It's not like he or Carl could have called up the local tech and said "Just put a Schubert concert tuning on it." That's what's so hilarious about your post. And none of had a clue which thing it was that made that piano special for me. None of us. It was a long process of discovery.

Your comment seems to suggest you didn't really read the book or you would know this.

Thank you, Nancy! Glad you liked it!

Thanks so much for your kind words.

Marc came out to visit me for a week nearly 2 years ago, worked on the piano nearly every day, refined and refined the tuning, and then we threw a piano party for local musicians and music lovers. We wondered--will anyone else hear what we hear? Will it affect them the way it affects us? It was a kind of experiment. There were non musicians at the party, too, and my husband, who is nearly deaf.

EVERYONE heard it, immediately. An opera singer who studied in Berlin said to Marc: "thank you for ruining for me every other piano I will ever hear for the rest of my life." A trio that was in town to perform rehearsed on the piano the rest of the next day. The pianist couldnt tear herself away from it. Everyone in that room--including my husband--was struck and mystified by what they were hearing.

I asked Marc to explain what we were experiencing--What I called, in the book, "The Marlene Experience"-- He said what we experienced is "vibrational coherence."

Now we know it is real, and not subjective. It is a matter of art and physics.
And I personally do not know of any other techs who know how to do this to a piano. Though there may be, certainly. But most techs think there is only one way to tune a piano, so I have my doubts.

So Marlene is still well! One often wonders when reading a first-person account, what happens to the characters after the book ends? How does their later life go? And Marlene is certainly a character in your book

I'd say the piano is in her prime now. The first day of Marc's visit, he said, "I'm madly in love with your piano."

We've talked about him coming out again this year. Very much up in the air at the moment.

I loved reading the book during my (re)introduction to piano a couple of years ago as a very-adult (re)beginner. It provided my introduction to some of the nuances that go in to making one piano sound different from another. This led me on to a lot more reading and learning, enriching my search for my own piano. Thanks, Author, for telling your story!

I just finished the book and enjoyed it very much. I'm very much a beginner and could hardly believe the journey the author went through. In fact, as i worked through the book I was not only fascinated but almost paranoid to shop for a grand piano for fear that I'd never duplicate a tone i settled on once the piano left the store!. But, in truth, I've found some of the insights in this book actually helpful and the story has made me look and listen in a new way as I shop. It's actually inspired me to play as many pianos as i can until i find the right one for me and not settle. So, in that sense the book has helped make my experiences piano shopping more fun and allowed me to be more patient and enjoy the journey.

That's so great! It's good to know that the "main character" of your book is still doing so well!

I certainly read the book but that was a long time ago and the presentation at Beethoven Pianos with you and Marc was also a long time ago. But I have some other questions/comments:
1. Can't any tuning be described accurately in words(maybe not words that a layman would understand but that a tech would understand) or even more precisely by using one of those electronic tuners to exactly record how each note is tuned?
2. Was the piano tuned with the special tuning when you first played it in the showroom?
3. If this tuning is superior does Marc tune all his pianos this way or is this just a tuning that you personally prefer? Have any other techs adopted this tuning approach?
4. If the tuning was unusual and special, it would seem like that would be the first thing that Marc would have thought of in terms of what made the piano sound so special for you. It seems like the only other thing would be the inherent sound of the make you bought but that would have meant that any good tuner who tuned the piano is the standard way could have made the piano sound the way you liked it.