[CAUT] Re. Flight of Broken Bass String

[Jim Harvey]

Susan Kline wrote:

> Jim, this reminds me of something I've wondered about.
>
> Certain players have just a HUGE sound, and routinely they do
> what I consider overplaying -- but they don't usually throw
> any of the unisons out.
>
> Others with a tight, nervous, poking kind of style manage to
> give me a lot more work. The sound is usually a lot smaller and tighter,
> but their blows seem to throw a tuning out a lot more easily. 

So you're saying, in effect, that one type of player is performing three 
finger, eight pound test blows, but using only one finger? <G>

I don't have hard statistics, and will apoligize in advance for 
stereotyping, but have noticed that -some- Russian artists tend to work 
quite hard at their craft. They may or may not be powerful players in 
terms of acoustic output, but they do go through a lot of "bench and 
body gymanistics" to create an illusion of same. These same artists 
appear to be the ones who are the string launchers. Just as I was about 
to have a global opinion, that opinion was destroyed by the Russian 
artist at last years Kawai concert in Kansas City. While I don't 
remember his name, his dynamic range was outstanding, instead of just 
off and loud.

It could be argued that it is a particular string's time to go, even 
though it does not break during the tuning just prior to the 
performance. The 'green stick' type of string fatigue would surely be 
the case in the 'Church of Tomorrow and Barbeque House Today" locations, 
where the damper pedal is pressed down simultaneously with the beginning 
of the song, then released after the piece. Note this is a -different- 
style than that of using the damper pedal as kick drum.

Then there's the other type of artist. I know many here have tuned for 
Marcus Roberts, so will refer to that playing style. I was asked to do 
four tunings on the same day for his one peformance -- once before sound 
check, once after, once before concert, and touchup during intermission. 
I mentioned that it would not be necessary. That sentiment was passed on 
by the house manangement, who then passed it upstream. The reply came 
back that "That's funny", and that I should do all the tunings anyway 
since it was in the contract. Not only did I not have to make 
corrections after the first tuning of the day, the touchup tuning was my 
chance to take center stage and be the star for several minutes. The 
tuning was still ready for a repeat performance two days later when I 
stopped by to check it.

However, Marcus' style, at least on that night, made me understand the 
request for the multiple tunings. He seemed to favor a certain key 
signature, and had certain notes that were like the "home keys" on a 
typewriter. Over the course of the concert, this tendency became like an 
itch that couldn't be scratched enough. So, Susan, per your description, 
I'd put Marcus in the "poking" type of player, style-wise.

Jim Harvey