Plucking strings and sustain time

[Laurence Beach]

Plucking piano strings does have a large effect on 'tone' or the 'voice'
of a piano.  A good reference on this topic is 'Pianos, Pianists, and
Sonics', by Gilbert Arthur Briggs.  It's been awhile since I consulted
this reference, but I remember an extensive section on the harmonic
series produced by a piano string.  The mode of excitation, whether by
string the string with a felt-covered hammer, a hammer made of other
materials, or plucking excites different harmonics, and thus produces a
different tonal quality of the sound.  I believe the main feature of the
felt-covered hammer is its ability to damp certain harmonics more
efficiently then other types of hammers or other modes of 'excitation'.
I seem to recall that, in that reference, there were even charts showing
the harmonics excited by the different types of 'excitations'.

Of course, if an old piano has such soft hammers and old strings, your
likely not to hear many of the harmonics in the total sound of the note.
Plucking the string will excite many more harmonics than normally excited
by a normal felt-covered hammer.  So how is it possible to judge the
'true tonal quality' of a piano in such a case?  Maybe the only way is to
have a spare 'good' hammer on hand all the time to stick in the piano of
question to test the tonal quality.

Larry Beach
Vancouver, B.C.