"voicing?" or "perception"

[BRADLEY J SMITH]

The current discussion of Rob Stuart-Vail's customer reminds me of a 
common situation:
The pianist asks you to make the action 'lighter', or 'heavier'.  They
seem to think it is only a matter of weight lifting(pumping iron).  I
have often 'solved' this issue with regulation, voicing,'piano lid
adjustment', (closing or opening) or even 'piano bench height
adjustment'! (If you sit on a higher bench, it is easier to play loud).
I have trouble communicating to the pianist that a given amount of
'work' at the key, produces a given amount of sound.  A harder hammer
requires less 'work' to get a bright sound, for instance. Voicing a
piano down, or softer, makes the action feel heavier. The experience is
that the action weight has changed, but really the perception has
changed, because we have altered the amount of work required at the key
to get a given sound.  
Please tell me I'm not crazy...It seems  obvious to me.  

Brad Smith, RPT
Manchester, NH