Soft blows

[David Andersen]

>> If we avoid hard blows entirely, surely the piano will be
>> immediately put out of tune by the pianist?
> 
> I thought for a long time that this was a myth, but so far have been
> unwilling to bet my career on a solo recital tuning, based only on
> soft blows (finger on the key at a dead stop). I am convinced that,
> while tuning stability does require a certain balance of string and
> pin friction from the piano itself, when it comes to the human tuner,
> tuning stability is far more in the hand on the hammer than the hand
> striking the key.
> 
> The "bump-up-bump-down" is what I trust.

I agree 100%.  Stability comes from 1) settling the string through lifting,
levelling, seating 2) the piano being on pitch 3) Making sure the speaking
length is stable---and that does NOT have to be an f or ff blow; and, most
importantly--your pin setting and moving skills.

David Andersen