[CAUT] Toughest piece for piano stability?

[Paul T Williams]

Nice info, Fred, et al;

I find on our 2 D's is that the C-5 C#5 just before the treble break are 
my nemisesseses.  I'm not sure why, but they go out first, always and 
consistantly no matter what the weather (they always stick together! )And 
it doesn't matter who plays them.  The C#5 has a nasty false beat that is 
still beating me up no matter what I do to clear it up.  I'm considering 
restringing them and repinning the bridge pins there and maybe even 
replacing the agraffe(s).  It's not horrible, and nobody complains about 
it...so it just a tuning gripe of mine....always a distant "cat meowing" 
in the distance.

As far as hardest player/ergo poor piano technique would be for me George 
Winston last year.  I thought he was to give it his new age tinkly music, 
but during his first FFF boogie woogie piece, I ran to the shop to get my 
set of bass strings!  I was sure something was going to fly out of there! 
Fortunately, nothing did.  He had 10 rubber mutes placed where he wanted 
unisons brought in!  I was shocked and amazed that after intermission, he 
publicly thanked me by name to the audience, gave me 2 signed CD's and was 
happy as clam (and of course, clams are happy!).  I felt both shot down, 
and then put on a pedistal in the same evening.

Ya Never Know!

Paul






From:
Fred Sturm <fssturm at unm.edu>
To:
caut at ptg.org
Date:
11/08/2010 12:50 PM
Subject:
Re: [CAUT] Toughest piece for piano stability?



On Nov 8, 2010, at 10:56 AM, Scott E. Thile wrote:

> This piano has stability issues on one note in particular
> (D#6)


Is there any D where that isn't a problematic note, along with D6 and 
C#6? Susan Graham once said in a class that she had asked one of the 
Steinway guys, I forget whether it was Fred Drasche or Franz Mohr, 
about that area. The response? "Those are the breaks!" Big help.
                  I have found that the best approach to the notes in that 
area is to 
be absolutely certain that the last movement of each tuning pin in the 
block (enough to create a change of pitch of any magnitude) is in the 
sharp direction. Whatever else you do in the way of wiggling, 
flagpoling, playing the note loud/repeatedly, that final move of the 
seems to be the key. Whichever string slides, it always slides flat (a 
string might creep sharp a bit, but the screaming unison is always a 
string something like 10 cents flat, in my experience). So if you 
leave any instability in a string, it should be tending to go sharp, 
as a practical solution. And it is better to leave a string a little 
woowwrr sharp than to lower it to a perfectly clean unison as your 
last move (unless you can lower it while being sure you aren't 
actually moving the pin).
                 Sometimes you can pound the heck out of those notes 
without a bit of 
movement, and one or more will still go under playing conditions. 
Frustrating, and hard on the ego <G>.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
fssturm at unm.edu
http://www.youtube.com/fredsturm



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