Loud Blow, Soft Blow

[Michael Wathen 556-9565]

>time is actually shorter, by a factor of three or more. On middle C, the
>contact time for a pianissimo blow may be typically, say, 4 milliseconds,
>while at ff, the hammer is off the string in 1.5 milliseconds, creating a
>sound richer in high partials.
>
>Bob

Question: why does a shorter string contact time translate to a "sound richer
in higher partials"?

Michael Wathen