Interestingly, you don't actually hit anything with them. They're used exclusively as a wrench and the "head" is designed to provide some extra weight and damping as the tuning screws (definitely not the correct term) are only turned slightly.
I had pictured tapping a string, then adjusting the string with the socket end. But of course you press the appropriate key, which has its own hammer and use this oddly-named hammer socket to adjust its tone. Now, Friday mystery, why is it called a hammer? :-)
AI (per google) says "because it's a hammer-shaped wrench used to tune string instruments that have tuning pins, like pianos, harps, and hammer dulcimers" but this explanation from a piano tuners forum makes more sense to me: "The tuning hammer is called a hammer because in the time of harpsichords and clavichords, what looks like a handle for the tool, was actually also a hammer head used to tap loose pins into place."
That explanation does make sense. My mother had an old violin that the tuning "knobs" were tapped into place to secure them. (People who know what musical instrument parts are actually called are cringing:-)
Interestingly, you don't actually hit anything with them. They're used exclusively as a wrench and the "head" is designed to provide some extra weight and damping as the tuning screws (definitely not the correct term) are only turned slightly.
ReplyDeleteI had pictured tapping a string, then adjusting the string with the socket end. But of course you press the appropriate key, which has its own hammer and use this oddly-named hammer socket to adjust its tone. Now, Friday mystery, why is it called a hammer? :-)
ReplyDeleteAI (per google) says "because it's a hammer-shaped wrench used to tune string instruments that have tuning pins, like pianos, harps, and hammer dulcimers" but this explanation from a piano tuners forum makes more sense to me: "The tuning hammer is called a hammer because in the time of harpsichords and clavichords, what looks like a handle for the tool, was actually also a hammer head used to tap loose pins into place."
ReplyDeleteThat explanation does make sense. My mother had an old violin that the tuning "knobs" were tapped into place to secure them. (People who know what musical instrument parts are actually called are cringing:-)
ReplyDelete