>Vince Mrykalo asks how I know that the following statement that I made is true: >> 3) But most of all, and on all pianos, I will use a smooth hammer technique. >> Switching from the jerk such as I was taught in the Randy Potter course, to a >> smooth technique advocated to me by the late Danny Boone of Baylor Univ., has cut down on broken strings by possibly %60 to %70. >I have simply observed it. There has been a definite reduction in the number of >broken strings since I switched to a smooth technique. The test sampling (all >of my tunings) is large enough to point to a trend. It makes sense, too - If >you yank on something it will be more likely to break than if you use finesse. >As Danny Boone said "There's the smoothies, such as myself - and then there's >the jerks". > Words of wisdom from my mentor, Frank Kast of the Northern Virginia Chapter, Always let the string down first, this is to ease the rust deposit at the agraffe/pressure point. Otherwise, the extra tension built up on the tuning pin side needed to get the string moving may break the wire. 90% of my string breakage is when I forget this. Let the string down enough to hear it release (not radically-*ping*), then pull smoothly with constant pressure. (Protek on these points will last for years) * * Jerking - is best confined to *taps* to ease torque. * * This is just one part of hammer technique which I apply to each tuning. Jon Page Jon Page Cape Cod. Mass ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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