This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment The analogy about the engine had to do with being thorough in a task. I = thought it was appropriate. Nobody ever said anything about not giving = the customer what they wanted. The discussion had to do with voicing = procedures. For example, I am preparing a set of Renner hammers for a = Bechstein. Even if I were unaware of whether the customer wanted the = piano bright or mellow, it would not change my preparation of the = foundation of the hammer. I needle the shoulder to get resilience into = the hammer. If she wants it mellow I will attend to that by needling = nearer the crown and/or shallow needling on the crown. If she wants it = bright I might sharpen the attack by filing the hammer slightly or = ironing the felt. Similarly, I am preparing a set of Steinway hammers = for another customer. I don't actually know how they will like it, = bright or mellow. But I will lacquer the hammer anyway because it needs = to be firmed up underneath to give some firmness and clarity to the = tone. If they want it bright I will but a drop or two of solution on = the strike point to sharpen the attack, if they want it mellow, I won't. = The point is that certain hammers require certain basic preparations. = Good hammers can be brought either way from there. I am not so arrogant = as to impose on a customer that it's my way or the highway. But I am = also confident enough to know that there are basic procedures that = should be done with any given hammer to ensure that whichever way you = end up going, bright or mellow, the hammer will perform properly. =20 David Love ----- Original Message -----=20 From: David M. Porritt=20 To: pianotech@ptg.org=20 Sent: August 13, 2002 5:09 PM Subject: Voicing I've been fascinated by the discussion on voicing. I try to listen to = the kind of words people use to describe the tone they like. If they = say "I like a bright, crisp piano, I don't like the muffled ones" I = know how to proceed. If they say they like a mellow, warm piano not a = brassy tinny one, I know how to proceed there. The analogy of the = engine timing is not appropriate as there is indeed a right and wrong = timing specification for each engine. =20 A better analogy would be how much jalapeno to put in the bean dip. = Tastes vary, and there's no right and wrong. We are like chefs that are = hired to cater a party. The customer wants her bean dip to suit her = tastes and it's our job to deliver what they want whether it is our = preference or not. Of course we can gather up our pots and pans and go = home if we want to be temperamental, but I'd rather give them what they = want. I have a customer with a D.M.A. in piano performance who likes her = piano somewhat brighter than I like. She has stated that she would = rather work harder for the pianissimo than to have to work so hard for = the fortissimo. It's her piano. She spent thousands on it, and it's = hers, not mine. I have another customer with an equal academic = background who wants his piano darker than I would like. He claims that = if he practices several hours on a piano that is brighter, his ears = fatigue and he misses little subtle nuances. It's his piano, not mine. If we remember who bought and paid for the instruments I guess it's up = to us to give them what they want, or gather up our pots and pans and = leave. I'd rather stay. dave _____________________________ David M. Porritt dporritt@mail.smu.edu Meadows School of the Arts Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX 75275 _____________________________ ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/c1/de/97/6b/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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