[CAUT] unusual repair

[Fred Sturm]

On 2/24/07 10:48 AM, "David Porritt" <dporritt at smu.edu> wrote:

> 
> From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Willem
> Blees who wrote:
> 
> This is interesting. I've got 74 pianos, of which about 15 are in
> teacher's rooms who play very little. What could be the factor(s) that
> contribute to more broken strings in one school as opposed to another?
> 
> Wim:
> 
> Teaching style!  Our piano artist-in-residence emphasizes forte playing.
> His reasoning is that your piano means nothing if your forte isn't forte.
> If you're going to have a wide dynamic range you have to have a real forte!
> You can only play so softly in a recital hall (unless you don't want to be
> heard) so your pianissimo is really only piano.  To have some range your
> fortissimo has to be fortissississimo.  Playing in that range will break
> strings.  He does, his students do.  His students also win competitions and
> do well.  I think he and I agree that his job is to teach students to win
> competitions and launch successful performing careers and my job is to
> repair the damage.
> 
> dave
> 

    Not only teaching style, but also motivation and level of the students.
Those who are competitive, and really want badly to succeed, and have
incipient virtuoso chops, tend to go after the big literature that is loud
and fast (that's what impresses many competition juries and garners standing
ovations). They also tend to go to schools with "big" reputations. And the
competition among students at those high level schools is intense, so
everyone practices more -  pianos are used longer and harder.
    So your run of the mill state universities (like mine) have students who
are less likely to break strings - many don't have the chops to play those
big pieces - and the pianos are not subjected to as much stress, in terms of
hard practice and hours of practice.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico