Tuning

hand met stemvorkHans ten Velden relies entirely on his hearing without using visual measurement instruments.  His tuning method is based upon pure fifths and major thirds and has therefore a high precision.

Interested in the how and why

of the annoying difference between practice and theory, following on his vocational training, he studied many theories of tuning. In the 80s he became intrigued by a newly developed theory of tuning by Serge Cordier from southern France. In practice, their tuning were virtually identical and Serge Cordier’s theory also supported the practice of tuning for concerts,  which was not the case with all previous theories. In short, a real eye opener! A few years later, Hans also encountered the theory of Maria Renold, a Swiss viola player and also a pioneer in tuning at least as profound in the theoretical field as Serge Cordier.

Issues related to sound definition and timbre

have always drawn the attention of Hans ten Velden. He has over the years extensively studied topics such as:
* inharmonicity [read more…]
* microtones [read more…]
* cymatics [read more…]
* overtones [read more…]
* and of course the physical workings of the human ear and the phenomenon of perfect pitch [read more…]

Early on, his method of tuning developed into a confident tuning, both musically and orchestrally, which makes many musicians very happy!