Backwards Voicing (RE: voicing schedule)

[Mark Cramer]

Greg,

I don't have a schedule for voicing, though rarely do a tuning without
poking at a few hammers to "blend" them in.

An old tuner advised me early on, "don't just tune, the piano has to "sound
better," or people won't know the difference."

He was on the right track, and I believe you are too, especially with
practice pianos. Tuning is rarely enough, why not leave it just a bit more
enjoyable than when you started, if there's time.

Regarding process, I tend to "voice backwards."

That is, begin with what would normally be a final step (i.e.: single needle
groove-by-groove) and work backwards to find the quickest approach that's
most effective.

If there's just a few offensive notes, mute the strings one-by-one to see if
you can isolate one groove, and needle it.

If a whole section is annoying, back up a step and try sugar-coating
(shallow needling the crown of.. ) one particularly obnoxious hammer for
effect. If this makes the improvement you're after, do the section in bulk
fashion. Always "blend" the troubled area in with the whole piano.

At some point it will be apparent the "shape" of the hammer (flatness, depth
of grooves, etc.) is becoming a factor, so back up one more step and do a
light gang-file/shoe-shine through the tenor/treble. Always follow with a
warm iron for neatness, and to settle the felt.

BTW, if you get backed up this far, you will generally have to follow-up
your filing with bulk sugar coating, and perhaps some individual needles.

File too much thougg, and you'll have to back up yet another step and probe
the shoulders with some 1/4" needles. The needles will puff-up the
shoulders, and you'll have to re-shape the hammers.

>From my experience, if it's apparent mere "surface-work" will no longer "cut
it," I will begin with a bulk shoulder needling first, moving quickly
hammer-to-hammer by feel, then follow up with filing etc.

Actually whoah, stop right here.

Learn to "hear" the difference between the "shoulders" and the "crowns"
(sustain/decay vs attack) when needling.

Listen to your shoulder deep-needling BEFORE any filing (grooved hammers and
all), and make sure you've dealt with them properly before going further.

If you spend sufficient time on the shoulders, often there will be little
crown needling remaining, i.e.: even a little brighter attack can sound
quite pleasant with good sustain

This isn't a complete voicing, though it will take an hour or two. And even
though it is still a "bulk" approach, it will make a profound improvement in
short time.

(It just occurs to me a well-worn Baldwin L and Steinway O each received
this last week during the course of tuning rounds; very worthwhile)

I'm not sure if this is exactly the info you were after Greg, however I'll
hit you with a final thought:

Steve Brady teaches identifying the "biggest obstacle to full musical
expression," and dealing with it first.

If it's "tuning;" then tune... if it's "no aftertouch;" raise the
hammer-line, "groaning knuckles;" lay on the teflon, etc. Then play the
piano, listen, and identify the next "biggest obstacle..."

I'm glad you're already looking at the "whole" picture Greg. Best wishes
with your studies towards RPT, and thanks for your interesting question (s).

sincerely,
Mark Cramer,
Brandon University

-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org]On Behalf Of
Tunapianer@aol.com
Sent: Monday, March 15, 2004 8:59 PM
To: caut@ptg.org
Subject: voicing schedule


List,

Although I'm currently only a hard-studyin' Assoc., I migrated over from
pianotech, because I work in an institutional setting as a "part-time" CAUT,
and
because 50 to 100-plus messages (a few gems, many frivolous) per day on
pianotech became way too much to handle.  Regarding recent comments here on
the value
of the listserves, these have been beneficial to me.

Institutional pianos of course receive very heavy use and abuse.  May I
survey CAUTs for helpful information about whether you have any kind of a
regular
voicing schedule, like a regular tuning schedule?  If so, is that schedule
tailored for piano location (i.e., studios more often than practice
rooms/classrooms)?  And, do you vary the voicing method according to piano
location, or for
whatever is most time-efficient (i.e., file and steam in the practice rooms
because it's quick, etc.)?

Many thanks,

Greg Soule
Pensacola, FL
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