May Their Practice rooms be filled with 1098's

[Richard Brekne]

"David Ilvedson, RPT" wrote:

> Ron,
>
> My hammer technique is sort of a dynamic impact style and I consider it to
> excellent.  I use manipulation of the tuning pin and key in tandem.  With
> every other piano I have no problems but with Steinway verticals in general
> I have absolutely no idea where the pitch is going, NONE.  Pounding (which
> I'm not a big fan of)does nothing, which leads me to believe with that huge
> pressure bar the tension between the pin and the bar is not in sync with the
> speaking length, i.e. tension higher from t-pin to bar.  Tension seeps into
> speaking length and up goes the pitch.
>
> David I.
>

I am not sure this is exactly the reason for the kind of pitch rise being
described or not... but it seems a reasonable enough explanation on the surface
of it. I used to dwell on this alot... why this or that happens when I use the
tunning hammer this or that way. Perhaps it is enough to know simply that a
piano behaves as it does when you approach it in a certain way, and behaves
differently if you approach it in a different way.

I find that you can take into consideration such effects as you describe above,
and I mean this in all sincerity. In fact you can purposely use the tunning
hammer in such a way as to experience a pitch rise after releasing the pin, and
you dont have to bend the pin in all  kinds of contorted positions to do this.
On some pianos its best to use a pull on the pin which leans towards this
effect, on other pianos its more appropriate to use a pull that requires a bit
of over pull and a drop back down to pitch.

I think to some degree we all do this either consciously or not depending on the
piano. In any case each and every piano has its own little quirks. I dont really
believe in a one size fits all  hammer technique. I have the same starting
position true enough, but just how I approach twisting the pin depends on the
piano.
--
Richard Brekne
RPT, N.P.T.F.
Bergen, Norway