Muting replacement strings

[Clyde Hollinger]

Dave,

I used to have the mutes pop out, but that rarely happens anymore.  I will put
the mute near the bottom of the string (in verticals), where it won't move the
string enough to mess up proper damping, and where it will do no harm if it does
pop out.  I will probably leave the string unmuted if it is high in the treble
if the piano rarely gets played in that area anyway.  In between I use my best
judgment.

One can ask, what causes a mute to pop out?  That probably happens because it is
wedge shaped, and the vibrations cause it to want to go in the direction of the
thicker part.  If you mute with something that has equal thickness on both sides
of the string, it should stay where you put it.

Regards,
Clyde

Dave Nereson wrote:

>     As for leaving mutes in strings, the rubber ones anyway,  I don't like
> the idea since I see them pop out with just a few test blows, never mind a
> few days' playing.  I just tell the customer I'll have to stop by in a few
> days to touch-up the new string, then again in a couple weeks, and maybe
> again in couple months.  The average owner just lets it go until the next
> tuning, except for piano teachers and semi-pro types.