[CAUT] Thumbtacks in hammers!

[David Ilvedson]

John,

What exactly does the piano sound like?   Not that I condone that kind of voicing but are you sure the hammers are ruined?   Hopefully the culprits didn't keep pushing the tacks over and over into the hammer to get the perfect spot?  I'd charge the culprits if possible for the work but hold it in reserve for the future...

David I.


----- Original message ---------------------------------------->
From: John Minor <jminor@uiuc.edu>
To: caut <caut@ptg.org>
Received: Wed, 6 Oct 2004 10:55:11 -0500
Subject: [CAUT] Thumbtacks in hammers!

>Well, it finally happened. Every university technician fears
>that one day the following will happen in their school:

>A recently rebuilt Steinway B was used for a performance of
>Stravinsky's RAGTIME. The piece calls for cymbalum so, in it's
>place a piano had thumb tacks pushed into the hammer felt to
>imitate the sound. This was for a NEW MUSIC performance here
>at the University of Illinois.

>I wrote a nice email to the performing arts center director
>where the atrocity was committed and informed them the hammers
>would need to be replaced at a cost of $400 for the parts.
>Unfortunately, I failed to mention the 30 or so hours it could
>take to bore and hang the new set!

>The department directors spoke and the offenders were
>supposedly "spoken to" about the matter. Personally I'd rather
>have had the chance to talk to people face to face and ask,
>"What were you thinking?" There seems to be an attitude of
>"I'll do anything I darn well feel like doing" among many in
>our music department. Is that an isolated attitude?


>John Minor
>University of Illinois
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