MUTES & MUSIC

[oorebeek]

Hello...dear colleagues,
I was reading remarks about  different kinds of mutes and I would =
like to tell you that for a very long time I have been working with =
rubber mutes.
When I started doing work for Yamaha I found out that they (as far as =
I know) have the finest felt mutes on earth, small and large. =
Especially the large ones are great.
Why do I like them so much? because: 1. they look beautiful, 2. they =
feel nice, 3. and above all, they make a clean sound without =
distortions.
Try them please, they are wonderful.

After reading all those letters about the finest tunings with 10ths =
and 100ths of cents and much more or less, I began to wonder about =
the value of all this nit(cent)picking related to everyday's tuning =
practice.
Now don't get angry or upset, I can assure you that I am very =
impressed with all the offered knowledge and the struggle for =
achieving the best possible tuning.
I just can't help thinking about one of the steinway grands at the =
conservatory I worked on today : (the following little story is of =
course related to my remark about tuning) I did some regulation and =
voicing on this instrument, a complete tuning was not really =
necessary because it had recently been tuned and it sounded good =
enough, just a few tones here and there.
After having done some voicing, I consulted the piano teacher about =
his personal taste and wishes.
He started to play some heavenly music and afterwards gave me further =
instructions.
What struck me at the moment, was that although the instrument had =
been pounded on allready for a couple of days and self evident the =
tuning could not be 100%, the result of his music making was rich, =
sweet and quite satisfying.
Then I decided to tell you guy's about this small event because I =
started to ask myself: are we not making too much of all these micro =
beats, partials and sounds.
If the basic structure of a tuning is healthy and in balance and the =
instrument is beautiful, what more could you wish for? rich is rich...
And besides, when one listens to a piano recital, some of the finesse =
of the finest of finetuning remains unnoticed because of 1. the =
acoustics of the hall, 2. the distance between the pianist and the =
audience and 3. the (usually) immediate reaction of the soundboard =
due to body heat, changing humidity and warmth of spotlights.
Let me tell you, to conclude my words, that I have been tuning =
certainly over 25.000 piano's during almost 25 years, and the last 7 =
years were filled with many many concert tunings.
Again, please, try not to get irritated, I have only admiration for =
all of you and like very much reading and sharing about our efforts =
and experiences...







>difference.  Maybe the pitch level (not to mention energy output) of the
>individual strings vs. the whole unison can be measured.  Has anyone
>tried these tests with both kinds of mutes?
>
>I use felt mutes made of hammer head material, cut and shaped
>appropriately



friendly greetings from:

Andr=E9 Oorebeek
CONCERT PIANO SERVICE
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
email: oorebeek@euronet.nl

** "where MUSIC is no harm can be" **