String breakage

[Mark Cramer]

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Many times while filing hammers, particularily on older uprights, where the
grooves had worn through to the wood, I would wondered who wears the felt
out up here? I don't just mean "who plays these notes," but who wears them
out?

My conclusion is that "we" do.

I can't imagine the generic home user taking a note and pound, pound, pound,
listen, listen, pound, pound, pounding it like we need to.

That said, in recent years, I've changed in a couple things to do my part
for hammer and string (and hearing!) conservation.

1.) Voicing (as already mentioned), understanding the musician's need for
"definition" in the treble, I've really tried to maintian a culture of
mellow tone here, as possible, from piano-to-piano and room-to-room.

Go too mushy afterall, and we can't hear what we need to hear either.

2.) Lighter test blows. I used to "test" the note equal to or greater than
what (I thought) it might get in performance. That was before the
tendonitis.

I now (forever in debt to the PTJournal contributor who suggested this) use
a karate chop, allowing my hand to fall from the elbow, of it's own weight,
from no more than an inch above the key. It's plenty.

BTW, after the tendonitis, I used a striker for a while, still with a good
blow. Though easier on the body parts, but found the capo sections would
tend to drift sharp, and this is a discussion in itself.

I'm happy with the maintainance approach others have suggested (please
include keeping an eye on let-off in the dead of winter) as well as trying
to do my part to "tread gently."

Now if you'll excuse me, I honestly am on my way to replace a string broken
by a 5'1" musician on a 5'4" piano, no,.. the pianist must be 5'4" cause the
piano's just 5'1!" :>)

Mark Cramer,
Brandon University

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