Yamaha C3 voicing

[Eugenia Carter]

Jeff,

I could be a smart-alec and say
1) yes, 2) yes, 3) yes, and 4) yes, but it's not Yamaha's official or
unofficial way; or I could just say yes to all. :-)

In a more serious vein, sometimes I use a Rival steam pot, sometimes I use a
hammer iron and a wet rag or just an iron depending on ?, sometimes I use
needles, sometimes I use pliers, sometimes I use more than one. It all
depends on what your customer wants, what the piano needs, and what results
you are seeking.

Voicing is no different than any other skill we use in our work. It takes
time to learn, it takes time to understand, and we never learn or understand
enough.

Take the time to practice and be judicious while you are learning. I suggest
practicing first on a practice piano before you experiment on a faculty
piano.

Since you've never used the steam technique before, err on the side of
caution. Listen/hear those results, see where you need to go next. Be
patient. It takes time; give yourself that time.

My 2 cents.

Gina






----- Original Message -----
From: Jeff Stickney <jpage@selway.umt.edu>
To: <caut@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2000 6:46 PM
Subject: Yamaha C3 voicing


> Dear list,
> We have a 2-year-old Yamaha C3 in a faculty studio that is quite
> bright.  I haven't taken the leap into steam voicing yet, and so, in the
> spirit of Jeannie Grassi's recent editorial comments on Mastery I'm
leaning
> on the the experience of you all before I jump in.  In order to do a
> wholesale voicing of this piano do you 1) Get the coffee pot and steam one
> hammer at a time in the spout 2) Use the damp cloth and hammer iron on the
> shoulders or other parts of the hammer 3) Do any of you use needles when
> faced with this style of piano/hammer ( I do like using a single needle
> tool to even things out, but not necessarily for this wholesale situation)
> 4) Is the unofficial Yamaha technique of using pliers on the shoulders
> going to produce similar results to steaming or is the outcome different -
> tonally, stability-wise, etc.  Thanks for your ideas.
> Jeff Stickney, RPT
> University of Montana
> jpage@selway.umt.edu
>