Backchecking Height

[David Andersen]

COMMENTS BELOW......


on 5/27/03 12:20 PM, antares@euronet.nl at antares@euronet.nl wrote:

> A general rule : back checks should be positioned at an angle of 72
> degrees...that's numero uno and VERY important.
> secondly, a hammer tail should under no circumstances touch a back
> check when the hammer is on its way to the string.
> You can check this by laying your hand on the hammer, press the hammer
> down a bit and depress the key, so that the hammer is forced up even
> though the pressure of the hand presses it down (a bit). If the tail of
> the hammer then touches the leather of the back check, you can feel it
> and hear it.
> The ideal position for a back check is such that the hammer checks as
> high as possible WITHOUT touching the back check on its way UP.
> The higher a hammer can check un-hindred, the less energy is wasted in
> the play of repetition.
> It may very well be possible that, when a pianist bangs on a key very
> hard and fast, the hammer shank flexes somewhat so that the hammer head
> gets sort of warped and thereby hits the back check nevertheless.
> For that reason the distance between the hammer and the string is
> generally somewhere between 14-15-16 mm, but is just a safety margin.
> 
> Antares,
> The Netherlands

Excellent, concise, and informative, as always, my friend-----yet there is
one other, more "ethereal" consideration I have been working with and
rediscovering over the years----that every action, when set up
properly(which, I guess, is according to me), has a backchecking "sweet
spot".....a place where the feeling of actually controlling the hammer at
the end of your fingers is subtly enhanced.  Not too low, not too high.  The
sound of the tail hitting the backcheck becomes softer, and there is a
slight feeling of more weight initially when the action is played, but it
quickly becomes pleasurable--- you can feel more of the "teeter-totter"
feeling that a component-balanced action(or a well-guessed-at one) can give
you.

Just my wacky, indiviualist's take......but I've experimented with it quite
a bit, especially over the last 3-4 years, and it's another small but
crucial piece of the puzzle to me.

BTW, LOVED the thread on glides and bedding---very excited about trying it
out on a new C3 I'm prepping on Thursday....and now to bed....zzzzzzzzz

David Andersen
Malibu, CA