Hello...dear colleagues, I was reading remarks about different kinds of mutes and I would = like to tell you that for a very long time I have been working with = rubber mutes. When I started doing work for Yamaha I found out that they (as far as = I know) have the finest felt mutes on earth, small and large. = Especially the large ones are great. Why do I like them so much? because: 1. they look beautiful, 2. they = feel nice, 3. and above all, they make a clean sound without = distortions. Try them please, they are wonderful. After reading all those letters about the finest tunings with 10ths = and 100ths of cents and much more or less, I began to wonder about = the value of all this nit(cent)picking related to everyday's tuning = practice. Now don't get angry or upset, I can assure you that I am very = impressed with all the offered knowledge and the struggle for = achieving the best possible tuning. I just can't help thinking about one of the steinway grands at the = conservatory I worked on today : (the following little story is of = course related to my remark about tuning) I did some regulation and = voicing on this instrument, a complete tuning was not really = necessary because it had recently been tuned and it sounded good = enough, just a few tones here and there. After having done some voicing, I consulted the piano teacher about = his personal taste and wishes. He started to play some heavenly music and afterwards gave me further = instructions. What struck me at the moment, was that although the instrument had = been pounded on allready for a couple of days and self evident the = tuning could not be 100%, the result of his music making was rich, = sweet and quite satisfying. Then I decided to tell you guy's about this small event because I = started to ask myself: are we not making too much of all these micro = beats, partials and sounds. If the basic structure of a tuning is healthy and in balance and the = instrument is beautiful, what more could you wish for? rich is rich... And besides, when one listens to a piano recital, some of the finesse = of the finest of finetuning remains unnoticed because of 1. the = acoustics of the hall, 2. the distance between the pianist and the = audience and 3. the (usually) immediate reaction of the soundboard = due to body heat, changing humidity and warmth of spotlights. Let me tell you, to conclude my words, that I have been tuning = certainly over 25.000 piano's during almost 25 years, and the last 7 = years were filled with many many concert tunings. Again, please, try not to get irritated, I have only admiration for = all of you and like very much reading and sharing about our efforts = and experiences... >difference. Maybe the pitch level (not to mention energy output) of the >individual strings vs. the whole unison can be measured. Has anyone >tried these tests with both kinds of mutes? > >I use felt mutes made of hammer head material, cut and shaped >appropriately friendly greetings from: Andr=E9 Oorebeek CONCERT PIANO SERVICE Amsterdam, the Netherlands email: oorebeek@euronet.nl ** "where MUSIC is no harm can be" **
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