Feeling the Hammers

[David Love]

I think there is a definite tactile quality to the hardness of the hammers.
You can feel the mush of an out-of-the-box NY Steinway hammer as well as the
lack of resilience in an unvoiced Abel or Renner hammer.  I wouldn't voice a
set of hammers by that sense totally, but it is an important part of being
able to tell where the hammer is hard or soft.

David Love

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Brekne" <richard.brekne@grieg.uib.no>
To: "PTG" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: June 25, 2002 2:29 PM
Subject: Feeling the Hammers


List

Some while ago I had a discussion with one of the piano majors here at the
conservatory about voicing and touch. It was his stance that the voicing of
the
instrument was not just something you could hear, but you could feel. I was
in
the process of voicing a new set of hammers and I remember being quite
suprised
at how much you actually could "feel" the change in hammer hardness.  I
personally have begun to rely somewhat on this feel as part of my voicing
technique.  However since that encounter with the pianist I have run into
several technicians who do not believe that hammer hardness can be sensed
directly by the fingers at the key.

I would be very curious to hear from as many of you as possible what your
views
on this.

RicB


Richard Brekne
RPT NPTF
Griegakadamiet UiB