Hi, Don, At 12:50 PM 2/29/2004, you wrote: >Hi Horace, > >The Atlantic Monthly is online here: > >http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/theatlantic/ Thanks very much for finding that. >However there is no mention of Mr. Kuerti :( Hmmmm - Trés Bummer....I'll just have to remember where that other article was published...drat. >Mr. Kuerti did write on the pianotech list serve back in 1996: Yes - I remember this posting. I had hoped that he would be able to contribute with some regularity. Unfortunately, his tour and performance schedules really did not allow it. Really too bad, I think. He has a real sensitivity for both the technical and human problems of the profession that is unusual. An exceptionally gifted performer, too - able to cover solo, chamber and concerto literature with a polish and aplomb that is all to rare nowdays. Re-reading this post, I rather suspect that he would still have the same complaints...really touchy, that problem with the sharps going too deep. Thanks again, Don. I'll see if I can't scare up that other article. Best. Horace >Date: 4/2/96 0:56 > >From: pianotech >I subscribed to this list a few weeks ago, am impressed by the way you are >helping each other. I am sure that this type of interchange will be very >helpful for many of you. However, I am going to unsubscribe at the end of >this week, for the volume of mail is prohibitive, especially as when I go >on tour (I am a concert pianist, for those of you who may not know my name) I >am often away for weeks at a time, and at the rate of about 12 messages a day >it would be hopeless to ever catch up. However, I may subscribe again, and I >will stay on now long enough to read any responses that come in. Although >as a temporary visitor among you I have no right to criticize, it seems to me >that there are a lot of superfluous messages and many are too long; I for >one detest seeing the original mail reproduced a second time and sometimes >more >often in a response. > >As a pianist who has taken a serious interest in regulation and voicing, >and who considers himself - rightly or wrongly - to be almost unique as a >pianist capable of voicing and regulating at the highest standards (among many >others, Arrau, Rudolf Serkin, Richard Goode, and Claude Frank have >performed on my personal piano, voiced and regulated by me) I have a few >pet peeves that I >would like to share with you, errors in piano care that I find repeatedly >on my tours. > >Almost half of the instruments I see have black keys that go too deep. >This creates a serious problem, for we must hit the keys very hard much of the >time. If there is not enough space between the top of the white keys in >resting position and the top of the black keys when depressed, a solid >whack on a black key is likely to set the adjoining white key in motion. >Even if it does not move down far enough and fast enough to cause a wrong >note, it >feels precarious and threatening. A good test is to put a dime (preferably >US, >as they are thicker) or even better a penny on the white key just in front of >the sharp, and pressing the sharp down firmly but not heavily, slide another >coin or flat object along the top of the sharp. It must have enough space to >slide over the coin on the white key. If it pushes the the coin away, the >sharps are going too low. To correct this one can add front rail >punchings on >all the notes, but this will reduce the depth of touch, and perhaps leave >insufficient after-touch. In most cases, it will be necessary to remove >the stack and put punchings under the black keys at the center rail, and then >place punchings on the front rail. I have found that if you are consistent >in the thickness of punchings, it will not be necessary to level the keys >after this - in any case, one does not see or feel miniscule irregularities of >position on the sharps as you would on the white keys. > >Another shortcoming I see all too frequently is keys which are too tight at >the balance rail. I can assure you that this makes a huge difference in >fluency, speed, repetition etc. When you lift a key from its normal >resting place, it should fall back into position promptly. If it remains >elevated above key level it is too tight. I find that in less than an hour >one can remove the keys and just gently twist a smooth round tool (the >straight end of a capstan driver, for example) to expand the hole in the >bottom of the key minutely - never of course abraising it or heaven forbid >actually removing any wood. The tightness is at the very bottom of the >hole. Lubricating the pins can help too, but is usually not sufficient by >itself. Speaking of which, the front rail pins are something which are >often neglected; lubricating these occasionally is very important, and >crucial for glissandos. Press some keys firmly to the right or left while >depressing them. They should glide smoothly and easily despite the lateral >pressure. > >After complaining about the length of mail, I see I am being very guilty >myself in this respect, and there will be no time to list many of my other >pet peeves. So I will leave you with just three more very briefly: 1) Very >rarely do I find a piano on which the hammers have been properly fitted to the >strings. Hardly anything is as important as this for a beautiful, even >sonority; it is even more important than voicing even, and should be done >before voicing, and if possible checked again after, as needling or filing >can throw it off once more. Recently I worked on a piano which was dreadfully >uneven, but after fitting the hammers to the strings - they were allway off >- I only needed to needle 4 or 5 notes. To check the fit, I use the middle >pedal to lift the damper of the indidual note clear of the string, and then >with my index finger press up under the elbow of the jack, and with the third >finger press the front of the jack gently to the left or right. Then I pluck >the strings and note which if any continues to sing. I prefer filing the high >part of the hammer to bending the string. > >2) I find that more often the repetition springs are made far too strong. >(If you are interested I could elaborate on that). And 3), quite often I find >that the damper stop rail is set too low with the result that when you use >the pedal, you lose some of your depth of touch, especially around the >break in >the bass. Which reminds me of the lengthy interchanges about the damper on >F20. This note almost never damps properly on Steinday D's beacuse of the >absurdity of design which puts just that one damper way out of line. It is >certainly that string that is creating the partials that hang on, and I >have seen it successfully dealt with only by extending the damper felt at >the rear as far back as possible, so that it damps closer to where all the >other dampers do. > >Thanks for your patience and I will now get off my soapbox! I do appreciate >the dedication and competence of so many of you that I have worked with, >and hope that my comments will be accepted as more constructive than >offensive!! > >Anton Kuerti > >At 05:46 PM 2/29/2004 -0800, you wrote: > > > > Hi, Garret, > > > > At 03:22 PM 2/29/2004, you wrote: > > Horace, > > I do not subscribe but would be interested if someone happens to have a > >copy to share. > > > > The copies I have are in with my teaching materials, most of which have > >been in storage since about 1990. > > > >"" on Anton at this point raises over 4,500 entries...I had hoped to be > >able to find something more quickly so I could post a more accurate > >citation...sigh...too much information. > > > > I'll see what else I can find. > > > > Kindest Regards, > > > > Truly my pleasure - sorry I do not have anything more readily to hand. > > > > Best. > > > > Horace > > > > > > > > Garret > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Horace Greeley [mailto:hgreeley@stanford.edu] > > Sent: Sunday, February 29, 2004 11:38 AM > > To: traylorg@equaltemperament.com; College and University Technicians > > Subject: RE: Intro to piano technology for Master Class > > > > > > Gents, > > > > > > > > Best. > > > > Horace > > > > > >Regards, >Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.P.T. > >mailto:pianotuna@accesscomm.ca >http://us.geocities.com/drpt1948/ > >3004 Grant Rd. >REGINA, SK >S4S 5G7 >306-352-3620 or 1-888-29t-uner >_______________________________________________ >caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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