"Brittle" strings

[Ken Hale]

On 21 Nov 95 at 13:43, ATodd@UH.EDU wrote Re: "Brittle" strings:

> Dale,
> **********
>    RE: Just this week I raised the pitch 15 cents on a "quality" grand
> piano about ten years old and broke two treble strings....
> **********
>    "You" broke two strings; or two strings "broke"???  Hmmmm!
>
> Avery Todd

Hi,

The above comment may seem like semantics, but I would like to say
that one of the most important things I've learned about string
breakage is to say "two strings broke". If I say, "I broke two
stings" that implies that I made a mistake and the owner's reply is
"Well, fix them." ( and don't charge me). I don't even like to say,
"While I was tuning, two strings broke." Strings can and do break for
some pretty funny reasons, faulty manufacture, rust, beating on the
piano, work hardened, and more. I once tried to break a treble
string on a 1900 Vose & Son and I was amazed by how much I had to
twist the tuning pin till the string finally broke. So, I cover
myself by making the string into a 3rd party, IT.




Ken Hale

khale@oro.net
CIS 74633,2474