Phil writes: > Can someone describe 'bloom' to me? Bloom is a term perhaps more common in the historical instrument world. It's really a catchall to describe the overall speech characteristic of an instrument, i.e. the change in sound as it develops in the first second or two after its initiation. It can be linked to vocal characteristics, something which a good singer can do. It can be fast and explosive like a Streicher (think why Beethoven liked Streichers the best), something that is hard to control but is very rewarding musically and provides a huge range of possibilities for manipulating. Or it can be more like an underwater submersion, like one of the late 19th century monster straight-strung pianos, e.g. Erard model de concert (think Debussy), taking several seconds to develop as the relative harmonic levels change quite slowly. Here the piano is more in control of the sound development. Or it can be something in between or something different, really an infinite spectrum of possibilities and what defines the intrinsic sound of the instrument. To hear it play a range notes and listen carefully to how they decay - think changing vowel sounds. Tuning is not the *cause* of it, but can alter it by influencing the feedback mechanisms that support harmonic development. Stephen Stephen Birkett Fortepianos Authentic Reproductions of 18th and 19th Century Pianos 464 Winchester Drive Waterloo, Ontario Canada N2T 1K5 tel: 519-885-2228 mailto: sbirkett@real.uwaterloo.ca
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