David,
I've had that same experience with Eric and it was partly the duplex
("noise") that seemed to make the difference. At the bench "yuck", but
several feet away it sounded great. I've since been made more aware of
the duplex sound after working with Vince. His tunings and prep work
rival any I've ever heard and he's very aware of the duplex and how it
should sound. Some techs even mute off the duplex to make it sound
"good" at the bench but it ends up less than desirable in the hall. I
thought I'd mention that because I don't think anyone has yet.
Regards,
Jim Busby BYU
-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of
David Love
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2005 9:44 AM
To: 'College and University Technicians'
Subject: RE: [CAUT] Gradually improving voicing
As I mentioned, I was joking on that line. But I don't see it as such a
conundrum. Only when one starts talking extremes, as this discussion
has gotten to. For the most part, a concert stage instrument will need
to sound more brilliant at the bench than it would otherwise in order to
carry the hall. That doesn't mean that the piano needs to sound awful,
excessively loud or crashy--but it might. It should still be even and
balanced, of course, and the pianist should feel as though they can
control it. But in order to achieve brilliance in the hall when it is
needed, the piano will probably need to deliver more at the bench than
you would ordinarily want if the pianist were the only one listening. A
piano used for concerto work will require even more
brilliance/loudness/attack (whatever you want to call it) to cut through
the orchestra. Experienced concert pianists generally know this,
inexperienced ones often don't.
David Anderson made mention of a situation recently in which he had the
opportunity to hear a piano at a convention prepared by Eric Schandall.
In the hall, the piano sounded truly beautiful, when he later had the
opportunity to hear the piano at the bench, it was a different and not
so pleasing instrument. I would say that's typical. If the piano
sounded at the bench as it did in the hall, it may very well have been
dead for the audience.
Which ever route you decide to go--prepare for the bench or for the
hall-- the differences are an important consideration.
Using a microphone on the piano is, of course, another option that no
one seems to want to consider.
David Love
davidlovepianos@comcast.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Horace Greeley [mailto:hgreeley@stanford.edu]
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2005 10:49 PM
To: College and University Technicians; David Love
Cc: 'College and University Technicians'
Subject: RE: [CAUT] Gradually improving voicing
Quoting David Love <davidlovepianos@comcast.net>:
> Until they read the reviews.
Hmmmm...well, not exactly.
It is an interesting conundrum. I have heard any number of concerts and
then later read the reviews and/or talked with artist and come away
wondering if we were even in the same place at the same time.
This is especially with what generally passes for piano "tone" now days.
Most instruments are simply overvoiced (made entirely too loud) to begin
with...somehow, the folks working on them and the people playing them
(to
say nothing of the "reveiwer" reviewing the concerts) seem to think that
loud and crashy is all that matters. Sure, things sound OK, at ppp,
especially if one does not listen too closely. But, the trip from there
to
breaking glass is very quick and often very jerky.
Abram Chasins talked about these kinds of developments way back in 1957,
when he observed that part of the impact of the recording industry was
(even then) that fewer people were actually going to live concerts
and/or
listening to music except through their "Hi-Fi"s...(stereo was a bit
new,
then). If one spends much time in the recording studio, one quickly
discovers that the last thing that most engineers want is a piano that
sounds like a piano. They want it very loud, with no action or damper
noise, and they do not want it do vary much from one end to the other.
This is why the Baldwin (and later, Yamaha) instruments have been so
popular over the years. As things have unfolded, even the best pianists
spend most of their listening time in front of their stereo speakers,
listening to pianos recorded with the microphones right up close and
friendly to the strings and hammers...occasionally with an additional
pair
of mikes thrown in for "air", but most of the "ambience" added with
digital
"enhancement" - the point is, the sound in their head is, most
assuredly,
NOT what the audience hears from "X" meteres away...etc., etc., etc.
It is an endless discussion; and, unless one has really had substantive
time
in a number of varied settings, it is also one that is ultimately
pointless.
People either get this or they do not.
The reviews will say whatever they say; and, if the instrument is
anywhere
close to being in tune, and anywhere close to being reasonably well
regulated and voiced, they will not even notice it...and, even if they
do
not, you can fully expect that the instrument will be blamed for
whatever
problems the artist might encounter. The answer is simple - live with
it.
This goes with the territory.
Best.
Horace
>
> David Love
> davidlovepianos@comcast.net
>
>
> ... generally a pianist doesnt really give a hoot what the piano
> sounds like out in the hall, unless they are out there sitting in it.
> Ok.. I sharpened the point a bit... but its not far from the truth. A
> player has to feel the instrument has just the right presence on
scene.
>
> If he/she feels that, then they are nearly always satisifed and
either
> dont consider the sound out, or just assume it must be ok.
>
> Cheers
> RicB
> _______________________________________________
> caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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