Richard: In Part 1 of the series he states "....I never imagined I would spend ten years as the technician for one of the big five American Orchestras." He is a member of the Chicago chapter so unless he travels A LOT I'd have to guess that he is the tech for the Chicago Symphony. dave __________________________________________ David M. Porritt, RPT Meadows School of the Arts Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX 75275 ----- Original message ----------------------------------------> From: Richard Brekne <Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no> To: College and University Technicians <caut@ptg.org> Received: Sat, 29 May 2004 17:17:52 +0200 Subject: Re: Practical Concert Work >Thanks for chirping in there Fred. I have to say I had similar reactions >to much of his article. It would be nice to know some more about who >this fellow is, and what kind of concert venues and artists he >frequently provides service for. >I agree particularily with your point about string leveling.... tho I'm >sure we can go along with Hudson far enough to acknowledge if one >over-does pulling upwards on the strings one can indeed cause problems >along the lines he mentions. That said... to suggest that no string >leveling whatsoever should be done struck me as bad advice. >If you dont mind it, I'd like to hear more about your thoughts on key >bushing cloth....you dipped slightly into that and it roused my interest. >Cheers >RicB >Fred Sturm wrote: >> Hi Richard, >> I've got to say that there are more highly questionable assertions >> in that article than in any I've seen in a long, long time. Certainly >> Hudson's assertion that "no one can distinguish between 0.125 in. and >> 0.0615 in." let-off is utter hooey, to be very charitable. Any decent >> pianist can distinguish between 1/8 and 1/16" let-off, and also >> between 1/16 and 1/32", and will vastly prefer the last. And for my >> part I have never seen humidity change cause significant blocking >> problems in a concert instrument I regulated to 1/32". Maybe I don't >> see drastic enough humidity change to share that experience, but I >> have never had a problem keeping let-off close enough that you can >> "play off the jacks (meaning slowly pressing the keys to the point >> where resistence increases - ie, let-off button and drop screw are >> contacted, then a rapid pressure of the keys will create a very fine >> pianissimo blow). I do keep my regulating button felt nice and flat, >> as regulating with dimples in the felt will always lead to blocking. >> But, that said, I think that humidity will swell those felts enough to >> compensate for string rise and fall, hammer felt swelling or whatever >> humidity change might do. >> I also think your average concert pianist appreciates key bushings >> without slop. If you are having problems with sluggishness due to >> humidity rise, probably the cloth you bushed with was too thick. It's >> a very touchy thing, choosing just the right cloth, but it makes >> absolutely all the difference. With the right cloth, good lubrication >> and polishing, and precision ironing, very tight tolerances can be >> achieved without causing problems in more humid conditions. Granted, I >> live in a dry climate, but I see rises from under 10% to over 60% on a >> regular basis, so I think my experience is pretty valid. >> Better to contour a hammer to an out of level string than to level >> the strings? Utter hogwash! Get your strings level (and the >> straight-mate from Pianotek makes that job just that much easier, >> along with Joe Goss's string level), file your hammers nicely (and >> travel and square them well), and mating is a non-issue. Leave the >> strings wherever they might be and adapt the hammers to them, and >> you've entered on a fool's waste of time (in my oh so very humble >> opinion). >> Hudson's comments on voicing are a mixed bag, but he sure doesn't >> understand the hard-pressed hammer and hasn't worked with it enough if >> he can write, "I have never accomplished much by working the shoulders >> to 'release tension.'" Granted, the biggest bang for the buck comes in >> that last couple millimeters away from the strike point, but if you >> haven't worked the shoulders, you'll never develop the tonal spectrum, >> at least in my experience. >> So there are a few quick reactions to the article to kick start a >> discussion. Or maybe to fade into complete silence, especially >> considering the time of year <g> >> Regards, >> Fred Sturm >> University of New Mexico >> >_______________________________________________ >caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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