hammer voicing

[Richard Moody]

Oh oh, its the embedded reply endeavor again.  rm

----------
> From: Horace Greeley <hgreeley@leland.Stanford.EDU>
> To: pianotech@byu.edu
> Subject: Re: violin thread
> Date: Thursday, May 15, 1997 10:22 AM
>
> Richard,
>
> As Descartes would have it, no perception, no reality.

What do you expect from a dead philosopher?  Was he before or after
Newton?
Enlightenment for sure.

Which reminds me....  The Great Master after a momentary flatulence,
proclaimed, in an exagerated German accent, " I schtink, therefore I
am."

>
> Actually, it was Pennario who first put that thought in my head.
As I
> understand his comment, it was intended as a broadening of view of
the
> instrument, and, thus, a philosophic (rather than an technical)
verity (for
> him).
>
> In practice, this concept makes teaching voicing less of a
smoke-filled
> room and gourd-rattle process in that it (seems to) help folk
understand
> the nature of how the hammer interacts with the string.  Another
way to put
> it might be that this concept lends a musical (philosophical) depth
to the
> description of the hammer as a variable rate coil spring.
>
> Clear as mud?
>
> Horace
>
> p.s. - I almost forgot, yes, it was Saint Saens - using a Pleyel.
>
> hg

Thank you.

Who is Pennario?

Another master told me "whoever voices with more than one needle
doesn't know what they are doing", and proceeded to voice out a
'zinging' bass note with one insertion of the needle.  The note I
would have dropped and twisted.  But this was three hours before the
performance. Later I came to realize he was referring to voicing out
side the factory. Now I am not so sure, I am leaning toward the
concept that resiliance should be made into the hammer not "deep
needled" into it.  However until I work in a hammer factory, and
install them....
	There may be advanced physics to "explain" the interaction of the
hammer and the string, but Leonard with one needle produced results
in 3 seconds.  He spent more time pulling and pushing the action than
voicing and all of that in less than 10 minutes. (before concert, I
don't know what he spent for  new hammers) What I didn't get to learn
was how he arrived at and maintained the hammers for such a delicate
operation.  I thought I would have the chance to be shown this, but
alas he is with Descartes now. (I hope) Fortunatly from what I
learned about filing from him, I was able to peice together a method
that was suitable enough.
	As with many of the arts of our profession there is no explaination,
only demonstration. That doesn't mean you don't think about it.  I
still haven't figured out those executive balls, or pool balls for
that matter that strike another, one stops dead and the other shoots
off at close to the same rate.  Or take a golf ball, how it bounces
off the floor.  Or how it is in contact with the club face for a
moment and then begins de-acceleration, yet travels for 250 yards,
350 yards if you are Tiger Woods.  I wish I chould bounce hammers
like golf balls to see how high they would rebound.  But who knows
what that would tell?
R Moody