[CAUT] Touch and Tone

[James Ellis]

Dear Colleagues,

When this discussion began, it was about the notion that merely tuning a
piano causes it to play better - better action response without doing any
regulation, etc.  I said that I had long ago concluded that this was purely
psychological.

That line of questioning has drifted, and it now concerns the possibility
that the tone of a note can be affected by the type of attack the finger
makes on the key, APART FROM the final hammer velocity that results.

Dr. Stephen Birkett's recent post is most interesting, especially for
people who think as I do, who like to resolve questions by making actual
measurements rather than by mere speculation.  But the problem I see now is
that there seems to be some general confusion between the hammer shank
vibrations that result from the type of finger attack on the key, and those
that result from the final velocity of the hammer when it hits the string.
I'm glad Dr. Birkett is in the process of making these measurements.  The
real question is, what effect, if any, does all this have on the tone
produced when different finger attacks on the key produce the same final
hammer velocity at impact.  This experiment is feasible, if Dr. Birkett
hasn't already done it.  If so, I would really like to see the results.

By the way, Ric, the PTG does have an "Honorary Member" category for people
just like Dr. Birkett.  The late Dr. Earl Kent was such a member.  About a
decade ago, I recommended Harold Conklin, Jr., but the Board didn't vote in
favor.  I was furious, and I wrote each member of the board, and I said
that was PTG's loss, not Mr. Conklin's.

Sincerely, Jim Ellis