RogerN wrote:

I just heated up the tips red hot with a propane torch and did my
best to let it cool as slow as I could. I think a lot of the
strength in the music wire is from the drawing work hardening
stresses. Note that even after my method of annealing, the music
wire still didn't thread real easily. You could try heating the
end to cherry red and then placing the wire in a preheated oven to
help it cool slowly, maybe even preheat the wire to help it cool
more slowly.
RogerN

I believe the trouble you're having with it not getting soft enough
isn't from the rate of cooling as much as not getting it hot enough
to start with. 1200F will draw all the work hardening out of it and
doesn't matter how quickly it cools from 1200F ...because it won't
quench harden from there.

Not picking on you, Roger it's just your post was the best one to
quote.

I've softened up just the tips of pieces like that by standing them
up in watery-sand. Tough to get them hot enough that way tho.

http://www.efunda.com/processes/heat.../annealing.cfm

The higher the alloying and the softer you want it, the longer it
takes at heat. In this case, try one minute and see how it goes?

Alvin in AZ