An education in stability

[Michael Jorgensen]

David,
     Why can't they just leave a permanent piano in the pit?  University
Events has an ugly old 60s blonde Baldwin Hamilton bought from Music for
$300.  This trusty piano never goes out of tune and sounds pretty good.
      One day it was dropped 5' or so into the pit.  The events guys were
sliding it on its' back on the edge of the stage to lower it into the pit
with two guys below and two above.  The above guys had to either lose
their fingers or let go pulling them out which they did.  The two lower
guys couldn't hold it.  When I was called in, I found the rear casters
shattered with pits in the concrete where they landed.  A pedal rod was
knocked out of place and holding the dampers off the strings.  AMAZINGLY,
THE PIANO WAS STILL IN GOOD TUNE!!!
-Mike Jorgensen

David Renaud wrote:

> Doing a pit show for "Chorus Line" as a musician, and was asked to
> tune the piano. The crew brought their own piano into the pit, an
> apartment sized Yamaha.
>
> I have never experienced such instability. By the end of every show
> it is way off, unisons are bad, octaves bad, top flat. Tuned it 4 times
> so far for 4 shows.By the second half it sounds horrible.
>
> The pit is low and cold, and there is constant air flow one can feel.
> They fill the place up with 700-1000 people and things change.
>
> Also as the orchestra plays, the platform shakes and shimys
> around a bit, constantly.
>
> I tune for another concert hall, choirs, many musicians, and
> have been happy with my stability at large. But this is quite
> frankly embarrassing with my fellow musicians.
> I've never done a cold pit like this before,
> with an instrument not use to the enviroment.Perhaps
> it is the shaking of the platform.
>
> Any words of wisdom from those that do tune for pit orchestra
> from time to time?
>
> I should pop the action out and check the treble bridge for cracks.
> Something is going on that in quite out of the ordinary in my
> experience.
>
>                                              Cheers
>                                              Dave Renaud
>                                              RPT