String breakage

[Delwin D Fandrich]

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  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: David M. Porritt=20
  To: caut@ptg.org=20
  Sent: February 20, 2003 11:01 AM
  Subject: Re: String breakage


  The stature of our pianists would make me seem a tad cheeky to suggest =
to them how they should be playing.  On of our teachers at SMU stresses =
forte playing to his students.  He says that your piano means nothing if =
your forte is not forte.  As a result, both he and his students do break =
a lot of strings.  His job is playing and teaching.  My job is fixing. =20

I can appreciate all of this, still.... The piano is a machine. It is =
made to a design and of materials that have natural and intrinsic =
physical constraints and limitations. They can only function well within =
those constraints and limitations. That's life--piano teachers are not =
gods, they cannot change physical realities. The fact that strings break =
when the piano subjected to excessively hard playing is not a reflection =
on the instrument, but on the player. After something over four decades =
of struggling with this issue it is now my opinion that the player =
should be made aware that he/she is pushing the instrument beyond its =
design and structural limitations, that their apparent lack of basic =
knowledge about and consideration for their instrument of choice is =
ultimately destructive and, consequently, he/she should be willing to =
accept the results--a reduced lifespan of various components such as =
strings and hammers. With those ground rules in place, I agree. His job =
is teaching, mine is fixing.

Del

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