String Breakage

[Jim Coleman, Sr.]

Hi Matthew:

The reason strings are more likely to break under excessively heavy playing
while the sustain pedal is down is that the hammer may hit the string when
it is already in vibration and is at the extremity of its amplitude in 
the same direction which the hammer is travelling.

Please consider this for your future playing style. If you want a piano
which has good duration (singing quality), you will have a higher tension
scaling. If you want a piano which can handle the heavy playing, you must
sacrifice the beauty of tone. Your choice. You can't have both in the same
piano. The old Story & Clark upt. doesn't get the heavy playing which 
the M&H grand gets; the action does not allow it.

Jim Coleman, Sr.

On Sun, 28 Nov 1999, Matthew Todd wrote:

> Greetings to all!
> 
> I have been following this topic somewhat.
> 
> Our church's M & H, as some of you may know, breaks strings like crazy.
> This is a problem related to hard hammers, improper work done, etc.  My
> playing doesn't help matters any either.  I don't see how the damper
> pedal can attribute to string breakage.  Can someone please explain
> this?  Here is another question I have...
> 
> How come I break strings so easily on the M & H, and I can practice and
> play the living daylights out of a 1901 Story and Clark upright
> (original parts), and not even stir the tuning job?  Now I understand
> that the M & H needs work done on it to prevent string breakage, longer
> tuning stability, etc., but this Story and Clark has been sitting and
> hardly had any work done to it (a tuning once a year), much longer than
> the M & H has or ever will.
> 
> One more question in this missive...
> .
> What can cause a hammer shank to crack from dynamic playing rather than
> the string breaking?
> 
> Antares wrote:
> 
> >
> >
> >      If a hammer is unusually heavy will it contribute to string
> >      breakage?
> >
> >      Michael
> >
> >
> > Hello Michael,
> >
> > When strings break it is (mostly) always due to a few basic technical
> > conditions, or, when you have a butcher, but in that case I'll close
> > all books.
> > The technical conditions causing string breakage (on an otherwise
> > normal and healthy instrument :
> >
> > 1. a bad regulation
> > 2. a totally worn set of hammers
> > 3. a long overdue voicing
> > 4. corroded or old strings
> >
> > If the strings are old, you need to replace them in any case, but
> > usually it is a combination of the first three.
> > As you mentioned before, the hammers in the instrument are unusually
> > heavy.
> > That means :
> > 1. the wrong regulation because the action must compensate for too
> > much weight.
> > 2. Too much hammer mass, which will act as a sledge hammer, playing
> > pianissimo is out of the question and too much energy is spent in
> > general.
> > 3. Pianists feel very uncomfortable under these conditions and they
> > find it hard to keep control and thus, it is more easy to break
> > strings (even more so when the pianist is a banger anyway)
> >
> > A last and > very < helpful rule for all technicians is :
> > a beautiful tone is :
> > 1. a perfect regulation
> > 2. a perfect tuning
> > 3. a perfect voicing
> >
> > On an instrument that is not too old and coming from a good and decent
> > "house" it is not so common that strings will break.
> > However, even with well manufactured and fairly young instruments it
> > is certainly possible to break da strings, but the locations where
> > these breakings occur are usually always the same :
> > They are conservatories and music schools. Both types of schools never
> > spend enough money on technical support.
> > I personally have quite some experience with music schools in general
> > and I have worked at the Amsterdam Conservatory for a very long time.
> > Especially at Conservatories you can put a mattrass for yourself under
> > the grand. In Amsterdam the doors open at 8.30 am and close at 11.30
> > pm. In weekends too students are allowed to make use of the
> > fascilities, resulting in a respectable Monthly bill for tuning and
> > technical "injuries" plus...the usual amount of strings "they" managed
> > to break.
> >
> > Actually, it would be much nicer to "take care" of one concert
> > Steinway a day with a golden tuning hammer and a platinum tuning fork,
> > a raison de.... well...what shall we make of it...600 US dollars a
> > day? lunches and parking fees included? plus daily applause? what?
> >
> > Friendly greetings,
> >
> > Antares
> >
>