Practical Concert Work

[David M. Porritt]

Richard:

In Part 1 of the series he states "....I never imagined I would spend ten years as the technician for one of the big five American Orchestras."   He is a member of the Chicago chapter so unless he travels A LOT I'd have to guess that he is the tech for the Chicago Symphony.  

dave


__________________________________________
David M. Porritt, RPT
Meadows School of the Arts
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX 75275


----- Original message ---------------------------------------->
From: Richard Brekne <Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no>
To: College and University Technicians <caut@ptg.org>
Received: Sat, 29 May 2004 17:17:52 +0200
Subject: Re: Practical Concert Work

>Thanks for chirping in there Fred. I have to say I had similar reactions 
>to much of his article.  It would be nice to know some more about who 
>this fellow is, and what kind of concert venues and artists he 
>frequently provides service for.

>I agree particularily with your point about string leveling.... tho I'm 
>sure we can go along with Hudson far enough to acknowledge if one 
>over-does pulling upwards on the strings one can indeed cause problems 
>along the lines he mentions. That said... to suggest that no string 
>leveling whatsoever should be done struck me as bad advice. 

>If you dont mind it, I'd like to hear more about your thoughts on key 
>bushing cloth....you dipped slightly into that and it roused my interest.

>Cheers
>RicB

>Fred Sturm wrote:

>> Hi Richard,
>>     I've got to say that there are more highly questionable assertions 
>> in that article than in any I've seen in a long, long time. Certainly 
>> Hudson's assertion that "no one can distinguish between 0.125 in. and 
>> 0.0615 in." let-off is utter hooey, to be very charitable. Any decent 
>> pianist can distinguish between 1/8 and 1/16" let-off, and also 
>> between 1/16 and 1/32", and will vastly prefer the last. And for my 
>> part I have never seen humidity change cause significant blocking 
>> problems in a concert instrument I regulated to 1/32". Maybe I don't 
>> see drastic enough humidity change to share that experience, but I 
>> have never had a problem keeping let-off close enough that you can 
>> "play off the jacks (meaning slowly pressing the keys to the point 
>> where resistence increases - ie, let-off button and drop screw are 
>> contacted, then a rapid pressure of the keys will create a very fine 
>> pianissimo blow). I do keep my regulating button felt nice and flat, 
>> as regulating with dimples in the felt will always lead to blocking. 
>> But, that said, I think that humidity will swell those felts enough to 
>> compensate for string rise and fall, hammer felt swelling or whatever 
>> humidity change might do.
>>     I also think your average concert pianist appreciates key bushings 
>> without slop. If you are having problems with sluggishness due to 
>> humidity rise, probably the cloth you bushed with was too thick. It's 
>> a very touchy thing, choosing just the right cloth, but it makes 
>> absolutely all the difference. With the right cloth, good lubrication 
>> and polishing, and precision ironing, very tight tolerances can be 
>> achieved without causing problems in more humid conditions. Granted, I 
>> live in a dry climate, but I see rises from under 10% to over 60% on a 
>> regular basis, so I think my experience is pretty valid.
>>     Better to contour a hammer to an out of level string than to level 
>> the strings? Utter hogwash! Get your strings level (and the 
>> straight-mate from Pianotek makes that job just that much easier, 
>> along with Joe Goss's string level), file your hammers nicely (and 
>> travel and square them well), and mating is a non-issue. Leave the 
>> strings wherever they might be and adapt the hammers to them, and 
>> you've entered on a fool's waste of time (in my oh so very humble 
>> opinion).
>>     Hudson's comments on voicing are a mixed bag, but he sure doesn't 
>> understand the hard-pressed hammer and hasn't worked with it enough if 
>> he can write, "I have never accomplished much by working the shoulders 
>> to 'release tension.'" Granted, the biggest bang for the buck comes in 
>> that last couple millimeters away from the strike point, but if you 
>> haven't worked the shoulders, you'll never develop the tonal spectrum, 
>> at least in my experience.
>>     So there are a few quick reactions to the article to kick start a 
>> discussion. Or maybe to fade into complete silence, especially 
>> considering the time of year <g>
>> Regards,
>> Fred Sturm
>> University of New Mexico
>>

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