At 03:55 PM 8/12/96 -0500, you wrote: >Jim, Keith & others, > Believe me, I'm well aware of the half-round bearings instead of felts. <G> >I hate to level those keyboards!! > My main question, I guess, is does it have any effect on the playing of >the piano, i.e. in repetition, trills, etc.? To me, the words, accelerated >action would imply that it does. > Thanks. Dear Avery, I have heard discussions about this topic for years, and I still do not know whether there is a definitive answer to your question. My understanding is that the accelerated action was introduced in New York in the 1930's, but was never adopted by Hamburg. I have heard Bill Garlick, who has extensively researched the Steinway patents, say that the real crux of this theory lies more in the leading pattern, rather than in the balance rail bearing. The keys may end up with more lead overall, but they will tend to be placed closer to the balance rail, thus reducing the effects of inertia upon the key return. I believe Bill stated that the patent specifies that this method of weighing off keys speeds up the return by 15%. Since there are so many variables in the way actions are designed, set up, regulated, and maintained, I suppose it will fall to one of our more scientific colleagues, such as David Stanwood, to answer this question definitively. Incidentally, Steinway & Sons abandoned this method of weighing off keys about 10 years ago. In other words, the new Steinways, while retaining the balance rail bearing, are leaded from the front of the key. Charles Charles Ball School of Music University of Texas at Austin
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