posts

Sean C. Capparuccia

I’ve been tuning pianos for ten years now and have been playing [at the] piano for 45 years. I emphasize playing at the piano because, next to my wife, Lara, who is a professional pianist, I’m just a beginner. (Practice all you want; knowledge and ability/talent are two very different things.)

When I first took up piano tuning it was the first time I had ever really actually looked inside of a piano. And about 95% of the clients I tune for have likewise never seen inside their piano. Strange, isn’t it? But after having tuned many hundreds of pianos a thought began running through my mind as to the theology of piano tuning. Theology? What does piano tuning have to do with theology? Well…. I’ll tell you.

A piano has 88 keys (unless it’s a rare model which may have a few less or a few more); these are 88 individual notes, divided into octaves of 12 notes. Theological point no. 1: Octaves are made up of twelve notes, a number that surfaces in the Bible and in nature many times, such as: 12 Tribes; 12 Disciples/Apostles; 12 Gates in the new Jerusalem; 12 months (and 12 zodiac signs); it is the number of Perfection, or Divine Government; Completion. So it is, perhaps, not so coincidental that there are 12 notes, or tones, in a chromatic scale of one octave.

In the piano these 88 notes are divided into three sections (another significant Biblical number): the Bass strings (unichords-1 string), the Tenor strings (bichords – 2 strings), and the Treble strings (trichords – 3 strings). Just where these sections begin and end depends on the scale, or design, of the piano but generally the Bass section runs from A0-F1; the Tenor runs from F#1-G2; the Treble from G#2 to the top). So, when you play a key in the Bass section, the hammer hits one string; in the Tenors it will hit 2 strings; and the rest of the piano each hammer is striking 3 strings at the same time. Therefore, a piano goes out of tune in two ways: the notes themselves are out of tune with a standard tuning, or the strings of a particular note are out of tune with each other. It is possible for an entire piano to go flat such that it sounds decent but is not up to standard pitch, but when individual strings are out of tune, that’s when most people call the tuner!

Now let’s get back to the theology of tuning. When tuning a piano you must have a standard pitch to which the piano is tuned. In Western music that pitch is A=440. This means that the A above middle C is tuned to 440mhz or 440 cycles per second. ‘440’ is the key, the standard, of a good tuning. Having set the A above middle C to precisely 440mhz, the rest of the piano is tuned relative to that pitch.

How do we know what 440mhz sounds like? Well, you can use a tuning fork which is calibrated to that pitch or an electronic tuner. The unichords are easy because they have just one string to tune. In the case of the bichords and trichords you must mute the other string or other two strings so that only one string is tuned to the standard. After tuning the one string, then the other string (bichords) or other two strings (trichords) are tuned to the tuned string. Still with me?

So let’s think of it this way: the tuning fork, or electronic tuner is God. It does not change; it is perfect; it is immutable and set. It is the standard to which all other notes must conform. The first string tuned is the Bible. It is God’s Word conformed to God’s thoughts though not God Himself. The other strings are the Church, conforming to God’s Word. Now, not every tuner (the guy tuning the piano) is perfect so you may have a variation of 1 cent or so (a fraction of a Mhz) between strings which, in effect, gives the piano its depth. This is indicative of the slight variations among Believers in the Kingdom of God. But note, no true believer is far enough out of tune to cause dischord – at least they shouldn’t be. And if they are, well, it’s time to call the Tuner.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” Romans 12:2