Hammermaker's corner 11

[isaacah]

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
HAMMERMAKER'S CORNER 11



Ari Isaac.





I was making hammers now. The year was 1982. They had a large, round =
tone in which a number of partials, along with a strong fundamental, =
were easily audible. A long sustain and a wide range of musical color =
but. sales, that year were slow. Looking back on it now it's not =
surprising since Isaac Cadenza hammers were the new boy on the block. To =
me it was a deep disappointment. I'd put so much money and effort into =
making a hammer that, easily, got more tone out of a piano than anything =
I'd used, the slowness of sales at that time started me thinking about =
why I should go on, why bother. Then something happened that gave me =
back the resolve which had carried me thus far.

The convention had been a pretty good one, New York state conventions =
were good ones in those years, they probably still are. We were sitting =
at a banquet, the gathering was friendly and cheerful, everyone was =
enjoying the concert laid on by the chapter and played by a music major =
from a near by, well known music school. He was playing pieces by Liszt, =
Scarlatti, Mozart, maybe some Chopin and he was playing them very well; =
his fingers moved nimbly over the keys and he didn't miss a note. The =
music sounded as interesting as see through plastic. No passion! No =
color, no expression. During one of the breaks between pieces I turned =
to Hanna and said;

  a.. the piano sounds like a Steinway M -=20
the chap sitting on my other sideturned towards me and said

  a.. - no, Ari, he is playing a steinway D. -=20
At first I couldn't believe him although I knew he was just being nice. =
How could a Steinway D sound like a Steinway M? and no color in the =
man's playing?

The realization came to me in a flash, he could not get color out of the =
piano because the hammers didn't have any color to give. Also, if, =
during his years of studying music, he was playing on instruments that =
couldn't produce colorful musical tone how could he ever learn to play =
with expression, passion and color? That's when I realized it, in the =
case of pianos it's the instrument that makes the musician. I am =
convinced that when a player hears a difference in musical color while =
playing the keys with varying intensity, he or she will be drawn to play =
with musical expression.=20

It was at that point I decided to go on. Sales would improve, as they =
have. If music is important, and, to me it is, then hammers that produce =
a musical tone need to be made available. What is a 'musical' tone? This =
is one of the many words whose meaning is suggested by the user to imply =
a general understanding but, in practice, has no such understanding =
automatically attached. The term 'musical', while liable to benefit from =
an occasional attempt at a definition, actually enjoys more of a =
visceral understanding than most other such adjectives. Consider, for a =
start, the many bowed string instruments built in Italy from 1560 =
through 1730. A pretty early period and yet. No one now or since has =
succeeded in matching their tone. To me they suggest the idea of musical =
tone was well understood even then. So what is 'musical' tone?=20

My own definition is, like everyone else's, subjective by virtue of my =
own, subjective pair of ears. We gain awareness of tone subjectively but =
my awareness of musical tone is based on many years of listening to a =
wide range of instruments; recorded and live, all of which have conveyed =
the same tonal impression. Other instruments I've listened to, no fewer =
in number, have conveyed a different tonal impression. The similarity of =
tonal impressions emitted by the finest instruments; pianos, violines, =
celli, woodwinds and brass, makes up the objective component of my =
conception of 'musical' tone.

To me, a 'musical' tone must permit you to hear three or more =
frequencies simmultaneously; the fundamental frequency will be the =
dominating one but the other two or three need to be clearly and =
distinctly audible. When listening to a musical tone I do not need to be =
able to identify the non fundamental frequencies so clearly as to be =
able to sing them but if I cannot clearly distinguish three or four =
frequencies - the tone is not a musical tone.=20

The second feature of a 'musical' tone is its sustain (this pertains to =
the piano). The sustain needs to extend to all of the audible =
frequencies of a note. The difference between the attack - what is known =
as the 'transient' in the recording industry - and the part of the note =
immediately following, needs to be small. The attack needs to flow =
smoothely into the bloom of the note. The greater the audible difference =
between the attack and the rest, or, the bloom of the note - the more =
percussive and the less musical the tone. I hear people saying =
"Sometimes you want a percussive tone". True, but sometimes you want a =
cold shower or coffee with no sugar or a good argument, fight, with your =
wife, girl friend, husband or boy friend, it adds spice but it doesn't =
change the definition.=20

The third and most elusive component of 'musical' tone is the color =
range. For all but the finest instruments there is only, mostly, a =
volume change with no audible color change. The grouping of audible =
partials along with the fundamental for a given intensity, loudness, =
remains constant throughout the volume range - that is about as far from =
'musical' as it's possible to get. For the finest instruments the =
grouping of partials along with the fundamental frequency changes along =
with the change of intensity, loudness, producing the rich range of =
shades, gradations, nuances referred to as tonal color.=20

These three components of tone are the ones I have aimed for and, for =
the most part, succeeded in building into Isaac Cadenza hammers.=20

Cadenza hammers will, ;sometimes, require some tweaking to match them to =
either a particular hall or the responsiveness (or lack thereof) of a =
sounding board, but the tonal components that, ;to me, make up a musical =
tone are always there.=20



---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/3f/91/8a/e1/attachment.htm

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--