Corte writes: << When you say you like "a very tight topstring for stability" is this the same thing as saying you like to place the non-speaking length at a slightly greater tension than the non speaking length? << Yes, as tight as I can get it without it wanting to pull the speaking length up. >>Further, does this suggest that bringing the string down to pitch can make the note less stable than bringing it up to pitch? >> No, it is a matter of degree. I feel that bringing the note up allows the top string to lose tension when you relax your grip on the hammer. This puts slack back into the top string, usually dropping its tension to the same or lower than the speaking length. The "untorquing" of the pin counteracts the friction from the bearing. While the string is rendering, the difference between the two segments' tension is a function of the friction at the agraffe. Subtract this tension from the top string( by pulling the string up to pitch and then letting go of the hammer) and you destabilize the system. When you lower the string, this difference is added to the top string. Both of these scenarios are without the flex or torque of the pin taken into consideration. On a loose pinblock, I usually not only lower the string to pitch from above, but often am able to then gently move the pin back sharp without moving the string. I know by feel how much. This effectively puts additional tension in the top string. On a tight block, the relaxing torque of the pin introduces additional topstring tension on its own. Either way, I am way comfortable with my stability. I have had a piano played so hard that a string broke,(Rach. III), but when I replaced the string, the adjoining unisons came right back down to pitch and were as clear as when I left them. In all of this, hammer postion plays a big role. If the hammer is directly in line with the string, the flex introduced by rotation doesn't affect the tension like it would if the hammer was perpendicular to the string. The "unt orquing" of the pin still has its effect,though. Ed Foote RPT www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/ www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html <A HREF="http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/399/six_degrees_of_tonality.html"> MP3.com: Six Degrees of Tonality</A>
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