Key Leads and Inertia

[Richard Brekne]

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Rich

The thing is that there are several ways of looking at what actually helps
the finger. More inertia has the benifit of helping to keep the key in
motion so the finger doesnt have to, but at the same time tends to be more
of a problem when the key wants to change directions. The points about
changing key speed during the keystroke made seem to me to be less relevant,
but perhaps you might have some insights about that you could share with us.

Much has been made of the idea that more mass requires more effort to move,
yet at the same time it is ignored that once that mass is moving it takes
less effort to keep it moving. In reality these are flip sides of the same
coin and to some degree whats good about the one side is bad about the
other.

And thats just inertia. I suppose we have to assume there are similar
tradeoffs in just about every aspect of this "how much lead and where to put
it" question. And in the end this is all connected to the question of how
much hammer mass do we want to impact the string, and why..

Personally, I like a good deal of mass in the keys because I like how that
feels in an action, and I like how much hammer weight I can counter balance
with it.  I tend to place my weights centered a bit closer to the balance
pin then Stanwood does, as I like the feel of this kind of configuration.

On the other hand, it seems to me that one of the jobs piano techs have in
this connexion is to identify what the pianist in question wants and attempt
to provide that for her.

In answer to your querry, it is my guess that the reasoning for the
acellerated action has more to do with key motion after the finger gets it
moving, and after it rebounds of the keyfront cushion, as this is where more
inertia is more an aid then a hinder.

Cheers

RicB


Classic Touch Ent wrote:

> Hello again,
>
> I'm wondering if the concept of accelerated action has less to do with
> the downstroke (less inertia to overcome on a high velocity strike)
> than with the return (with the weight(s) closer to the balance pin they
> are less effective counterbalancing the stack mass- potentially a
> quicker return). I guess it has a perceived overall benefit on both
> sides of the keystroke?
>
> Rich
> On Thursday, May 1, 2003, at 01:14 PM, Classic Touch Ent wrote:
>

--
Richard Brekne
RPT, N.P.T.F.
UiB, Bergen, Norway
mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no
http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html


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