Stretched tuning

Have you ever noticed that when you play different notes on a piano, they all make different sounds? But did you know that sometimes, the notes might not sound exactly how we expect them to? This is because of something called stretched tuning.

Stretched tuning is when the notes on a piano are purposely tuned to be a little bit higher or lower than they should be. This happens because the way sound travels and bounces around inside the piano can make certain notes sound a little bit different from others.

Imagine you have two friends, one is short and one is really tall. If they both stand next to you and talk at the same volume, it might be harder to hear your short friend because their voice doesn't travel as far. This is kind of like what happens with the notes in a piano.

To make sure all the notes sound equally loud and clear, piano makers will slightly adjust the tuning of each note. Some notes might be tuned a little bit higher, and others might be tuned a little bit lower. This helps create a more balanced sound overall.

So the reason we have stretched tuning is to make sure all the notes on a piano sound equally good and clear. It's kind of like having all your friends stand on different-sized boxes so they can all reach your ears the same way!