Phil,
Thanks for your work here and for sharing it.
Alan McCoy
-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of Phil
Romano
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2004 5:42 PM
To: 'College and University Technicians'
Subject: RE: Kuerti article (Step by Step Guide)
Hi List,
I think it was I who started this thread by asking if anyone had any good
info to impart to a Master Class regarding some kind of technical awareness
for the average piano student. I found the Kuerti article to be informative
though somewhat dated.
No one has, however, mentioned the sidebar article that ran in the Journal,
"Anton Kuerti's Step-by-Step Guide for Determining if your Piano is in Good
Regulation". I'm not sure if it ran in Clavier.
I finally got around to typing it out and I include it below. This sidebar
was more of what I had in mind to give to a university student (or any
pianist) to enlighten them as to the condition of their instrument. Not
necessarily to encourage them to service said instrument!
I have posted this in Plain Text. If anyone would like a formatted .rtf file
of this, please email off list.
Regards,
Phil Romano
Coastal Carolina University
Conway, South Carolina
Anton Kuerti's
Step-By-Step Guide
FOR DETERMINING IF YOUR PIANO IS IN GOOD REGULATION
PIANOS NEED FREQUENT REGULATING
Most people are aware of the need to tune pianos regularly. What they often
do not realize, unfortunately, is that tuning is only a small part of the
care needed to keep a piano in first-rate condition. Poorly regulated pianos
are a nightmare for the performer, often making it impossible for him to
give his listeners a meaningful musical experience. Equally important, they
hinder students in their efforts to develop technique, for many ways of
playing are impossible when the regulation is faulty.
A common misconception is that when a knowledgeable pianist asks the
technician to make some changes in the regulation of a piano, it is because
he wants the piano to be specifically adjusted to his own personal
preferences. While personal preferences of course do exist, the average
piano is so far from being regulated in accordance with the normal, correct
standards that the pianists request are usually just a desperate attempt to
restore these standard, reasonable norms.
Regular adjustment of a piano is necessary because the mechanism contains
many felt and leather parts that become compressed and worn through use and
are considerably affected by varying moisture content due to seasonal
changes in the relative humidity of the air.
(APPLIES TO GRAND PIANOS ONLY)
Materials needed: 20 pennies, a ruler, a doctor's tongue depressor or piece
of cardboard, a pencil with an eraser.
Preparation: Remove the music rack and bring a good lamp or flashlight to
the piano.
1. Jack Position and Obvious Defects:
Strike each note on the piano very forcefully, release it very slowly, and
then play it a second time FF. Notes which fail to play on the first blow
probably have the jack too far forward, those which fail on the second
probably have it set too high. Since this will be the only test in which all
the notes of the piano will be struck, check at the same time for missing
ivories or strings, clicks or vibrations, notes that do not function, etc.
2. Weighting and Friction in Centers
Press down the damper pedal (on right) and place a stack of twelve pennies
at the front edge of a white key. Gradually add pennies, one by one, until
the key starts to move down. It should take at least 13 and no more than 19
pennies to start the key moving. Check a number of different keys. Adjacent
keys should not vary more than the weight of two pennies. After the key has
moved down, remove one penny at a time until the key rises almost completely
to its rest position. There should be an absolute minimum of 6, preferably 7
pennies left on it. Be careful not to allow pennies to fall between keys!
3. Striking Distance:
To measure the striking distance simply take a piece of stiff paper or a
doctor's tongue fall depressor, measure off 1 3/4" with a pencil, and
insert it between two strings until it barely rests on the surface of the
hammer. The pencil mark should then be even with the underside of the
string. It is even easier to measure if you if you make a notch at the
correct distance. You can feel the string with the notch and observe the
bottom end, which should just touch the hammer. The distance should
be within 1/8" of the 1 3/4" standard. Check with the eye to see
that the hammer line is perfectly level and even. If the hammer shanks (the
long arms to which the hammer heads are attached) are resting on the felt
cushions below them, it is almost certain that the hammers are resting too
far from the strings, as there should be a gap of roughly 1/4" between the
shanks and the cushions. This and some other measurements are difficult to
measure in the low bass and high treble, so it may be best to confine your
checking to the middle registers.
4. Let-off and Lubrication:
Press down a key very slowly, observing carefully where the hammer stops
rising and starts to fall back down. This should be 1/16" from the string,
the thickness of a penny. Up to 1/8" is acceptable for any note and for the
low bass notes with single strings, even slightly more than 1/8". Check many
notes to see that this adjustment is even. Listen carefully while pushing
the key down, especially near the bottom of the key, where resistance
increases. Any creaking or squeaking indicates the need for lubrication.
5. Drop and Aftertouch:
Again depress a key very slowly, and this time observe how far the hammer
falls after it changes direction. This should be at least 1/16"
and not more than 3/16" at the most. Depress and hold down a chromatic
series of notes in this manner, and check to see that the hammers all end up
in a straight line. If you play any of the notes too strongly when doing
this, they will be caught by the backchecks and appear to be much too low,
so if any of them seem far out of line, try them again even more gently.
After the hammer drops, it should be possible to push the key slightly
further down before hitting bottom.
6. Back-checks:
Strike a fairly hard blow, keeping the key down. The hammer should be caught
firmly when it rebounds and not bounce back up toward the string.
It should be caught clearly higher than the half way point between the
resting point of the hammers and the strings, ideally about 5/8" from the
strings. Now play a series of notes simultaneously and check to see that the
line of caught hammers is reasonably straight. (A deviation of 1/8" or so
would be acceptable in this case while it would not be in tests 3, 4, or 5).
7. Repetition Springs:
Strike a firm blow and then very gradually start to release the key,
observing the hammer carefully. At a certain moment it should start to rise
on its own. This motion should be gradual, not jerky, but also not too slow,
perhaps about like a rather slow gesture by a conductor. Check for evenness,
as usual. It is impossible to judge the springs if the back-checks are not
working properly.
8. Touch Depth:
Place a stack of six pennies on a white key, and press it down until it
touches bottom securely, but without pushing too hard. The surface of the
top penny should be even with the adjacent keys, or slightly lower,
particularly on concert grands. It should not be lower than the bottom
surface of the ivory key covering. A depth of seven pennies (about
.420") would be the absolute maximum permissible for a concert grand, and
would definitely be too deep for smaller instruments. Check with the eye to
make sure the keys are level both when at rest and when depressed. Check the
touch depth in the middle and at the extreme ends of the keyboard, as it may
be off in one place more than another.
Finally, press some black keys down quite firmly. They should stop at least
1/16" above the surface of the white keys, the thickness of one penny.
9. Keys:
Lift some white keys above their normal resting position. They should return
promptly to their original position. Now hold a key firmly and try to move
it backwards and forwards. There should be no free play at all in this
direction. Check for play to the left and right. There should be some, but
not enough to allow the keys to touch each other.
Slap some of the black keys to their right and left, and see if you can hear
them hitting the adjacent notes.
10. Hammers:
Press down a note softly while looking straight down at the hammer. It
should be squarely under all three strings. It is all right for it to be
slightly to the right of center, as long as it is clear that the string on
the left will be solidly struck. Examine the grooves on the hammers, and the
shape of the hammer heads. There should be no deep grooves, and the surface
should not be flat. A groove as deep as the thickness of a string would be
unacceptable for concert purposes. In the treble the grooves should not be
longer than 1/8". From about A-440 down, they may be longer.
11. Pedals and Dampers:
After checking for squeaks (check the damper pedal particularly for rapid
lifting, and the soft pedal when pressed slowly), depress the damper pedal
very slowly, and watch the dampers. There should be some free play before
the dampers start to rise, but after the pedal has been about 1/4" they
should start to rise quite uniformly. Next, observe a hammer and a damper as
you press a key down slowly. The damper should start to lift when the hammer
is about half way to the string. When the note is held down, try lifting the
damper higher with the fingers. The free play here should be very small. If
it possible to lift the damper more than 1/8", the damper stop rail needs
adjustment. Play a series of loud staccato chords and listen for notes that
do not disappear rapidly enough. Finally, with the soft pedal down, damp the
middle and right strings with a rubber eraser. Now play the note. Only a
thud should be heard, no sustained sound.
12. Middle Pedal:
Middle pedals are almost always out of order, and they are the least
important of all the piano's various regulations. Play a chord in the bass,
and while holding it, push down the middle pedal. Release the keys and the
chord should remain sustained. After trying several different chords, press
down the damper pedal, and while holding it down, press down the middle
pedal. Now hold down the middle pedal while releasing the damper pedal, and
watch the dampers. None of them should drop. Now release the middle pedal
and push it down again. While holding it, play notes all over the keyboard
loudly. None of them should be sustained by the pedal.
To be suitable for concert performances, a piano should pass all the above
tests with the possible exception of number 12.
-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of Horace
Greeley
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2004 6:29 PM
To: College and University Technicians
Subject: RE: Kuerti article
Alan, et al,
At 04:15 PM 3/23/2004, you wrote:
>Hey folks,
>
>Has anyone made contact with Mr Kuerti? Just reread the article. This
>is really an amazing piece expecially given the date of writing. So
>what that several of the "fixes" are now considered to be problems
>rather than solutions. There is still so much good information in it
>that I wish all pianists knew it by heart. I hope to be teaching a
>class for teachers and pianists this summer and would like to have his
>permission to use it, even in its dated form. Thanks.
I had sent an EM to the last known-good address I had for Mr. Kuerti, and
have had no response to date. I believe that he is listed in Musical
America, and can probably be reached through his management (from that
listing).
As I think I originally noted, he has always been most gracious in allowing
people to use that material, given appropriate acknowledgement; and really
cannot imagine that he would not do so again. Still, it is best to be sure.
Best of luck with your class! I am sure that you will learn at least as
much as the "students" do!
Horace
>Alan
>
>____________________________________________
>Alan McCoy, RPT
>Eastern Washington University
>509-359-4627
>amccoy@mail.ewu.edu
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of
>Horace Greeley
>Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 8:55 AM
>To: College and University Technicians
>Subject: Re: Kuerti article
>
>At 08:25 AM 3/2/2004, you wrote:
> >I've just begun reading the article. This is a fabulous article for
> >the PTG to request permission for reproduction!
>
>I used that article for years when doing different types of
>presentations/classes/seminars. Kuerti was always most generous in
>giving permission - obviously when properly credited.
>
>I have sent an EM to the last place I knew how to reach him to see if
>he is still amenable to such use. It has been a while, so I may not
>have correct current data.
>
>Best.
>
>Horace
>
>
>
> >Jeff
> >
> >On Tuesday, March 2, 2004, at 11:15 AM, Jeff Tanner wrote:
> >
> >>I did just locate the article in the bound periodicals section of
> >>our music library. Jeff
> >>
> >>On Tuesday, March 2, 2004, at 11:03 AM, Horace Greeley wrote:
> >>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>Jeff,
> >>>
> >>>It does...well, at least I found it in the wee-small, but it does
> >>>not appear to have a searchable archive. If someone does find such
> >>>a thing, please do post it.
> >>>
> >>>Thanks very much.
> >>>
> >>>Horace
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>At 07:46 AM 3/2/2004, you wrote:
> >>>
> >>>I don't think Clavier has a web site.
> >>>Jeff
> >
> >_______________________________________________
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>
>
>_______________________________________________
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>
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