[CAUT] CAF

[Zeno Wood]

This is exactly what I thought was so important about Fred Redekop's article
in the August Journal.  He explains regulation in terms of the pianist, and
not the technician.  We can lose sight of the fact that we're tuning and
regulating so people can play, not the other way around.

All the best,
Zeno Wood


On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 11:59 AM, Susan Kline <skline at peak.org> wrote:

>  At 06:56 AM 8/20/2009, you wrote:
>
> Geesh, Fred. Should we not look directly into their faces lest their
> countenance blind us?  Perhaps piano tuners should wear veils when we go out
> in public.
> Jeff
>
>
> I certainly will never rush forward in my infinite wisdom to tell a concert
> pianist how to play. Of course, not all pianists are created equal. The
> other day in a church I taught a pianist how to pedal a Brambach grand to
> avoid the THUMP when all the dampers in free fall hit the strings. I pointed
> out how extremely even the lift was, and how the pedal would work fine
> lifting the dampers only 1/4" off the strings, and how she should never just
> let go with the right foot.
>
> At times pianists have been a wonderful source of information. I fix up the
> piano as best I know, doing what I can for the things which bother me, then
> a real pianist comes and plays and tells me what they feel and what bothers
> them. Not the same stuff .....
> That "oh, dear" is similar to a few times when I had a revealing moment. I
> fixed up the piano (usually not a concert piano) thinking it was fine, and
> then played it for a few minutes and found out what I really should have
> been working on. We have this mental construction in our heads of what one
> might call "right piano, good piano, nice piano" but it doesn't always
> conform to reality at every point.
>
> Has everyone else noticed how amazed and delighted pianists are when they
> complain about something and one actually improves it? This is because
> they've complained so often and had technicians not improve it.
>
> Susan Kline
>
>  ----- Original Message -----
> From: Fred Sturm <fssturm at unm.edu>
>
> I suggest that no piano technician should presume to tell a pianist what
> kind of technique to use. Nor should we have the attitude that we know what
> pianos are capable of because of our own expertise. Pianists come up with
> ways of approaching the keyboard through trial and error and endless hours
> of refinement. If they have been able to achieve the effect they want on one
> piano, they want to be able to achieve at least a similar effect on another.
> Pianists (at the top end of the profession) are constantly pushing the
> limits. It is our job to try to accommodate their needs. At least that is my
> attitude. Yours may differ.
>
>
>
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