er at a depth of about
three-quarters of the thickness of the felt. If the hammers are very
hard it may be well to use both the pliers and the pick; but care must
always be taken not to get the hammers too soft, and extreme care must
be taken not to get some softer than others. Some hammers are always
used more than others and, of course, these will need more softening.
Usually those at the extreme ends of the instrument will need no
softening at all, but sometimes the bass will bear considerable
softening. After going over them in the above way, try them by playing
the chromatic scale and you will invariably find some that need
additional attention. Be sure that no hard tone is left, as such a
condition is a great annoyance to a delicate ear.

~Singing.~--When a damper is out of order and does not do its work
properly, they often say the tone _sings_. They say the same thing
about the reed organ when a pallet sticks or a key stays down.
Sometimes this term is used to express the grating vibration which has
been treated under the head of _sympathetic rattle_.

~Tin-panny.~--This term is often used and generally means that the
instrument is out of tune, and especially that the unisons are out.
Sometimes it is used to express a _hollow_ quality of tone; but you
will rarely, if ever, hear a piano spoken of in this way if it is in
correct tune. Any piano out of tune badly may be said to sound
tin-panny.

~Bass-ey.~--This term expresses a very harsh bass. Imperfect octaves
or unisons in the bass of a piano give rise to the use of this term.
If the bass of the instrument is decidedly flat, the same term is
sometimes used to express the condition.

~Harsh.~--This term, when it does not apply to the voice of the piano,
generally reflects upon the work of the tuner (?). Chords are _harsh_
when they contain over-sharp thirds, bad fifths, octaves, etc. Take
care that your temperament contains no bad chords, and after you are
all through, see that all tones have stood, and that you have left no
bad unisons or octaves. One or two carelessly tuned tones may
disparage your otherwise creditable work.

~Questions.~--Questions are often asked the tuner concerning the care
of the piano. Be prepared to answer any reasonable question that may
come up, which your knowledge of the instrument should enable you to
do. In regard to temperature, moisture, etc., an extreme either way is
the thing to avoid. A very dry or hot atmosphere will c