MET@Alleyn’s: How to get your piano perfectly out of tune

In a captivating and thought-provoking lecture, Aidan Sproat-Clements, Maths Teacher and Assistant Head of Alleyn’s School, recently delved into the fascinating relationship between mathematics and music.

The heart of the lecture focused on the art of piano tuning, revealing the meticulous process involved. Aidan explained why tuning any keyboard instrument necessarily involved compromise, and explained how a mathematical understanding of sound allowed tuners to make the precise adjustments required to create an ideal instrument. By introducing a small difference in frequencies between two strings, tuners are able to create beats: slow, consistent pulsations. These beats act as markers for how out-of-tune each note is, allowing tuners to carefully shrink every interval by a required amount and hence to make precisely the right level of compromise on each string.

The ultimate result is a piano that lacks the true purity of perfect intervals but which is carefully tuned to create a versatile instrument which sounds good in any key. Aidan's lecture highlighted the beauty of mathematical harmonies and the intentional embrace of a world of sound that is not in perfect sync.

We are very excited to see the 7-minute speeches pupils come up with for our next MET@Alleyn’s: the “Ned Talks”.