something about aftertouch........

[antares]

On 8-mei-05, at 22:00, David Love wrote:

> That someone would be me and you miss the point.  Andre argued that to
> change the feel you could change the aftertouch.  I would argue that 
> the
> aftertouch is as you say, the function of a properly regulated
> action--though you can adjust the amount of aftertouch by altering dip
> or blow.  At any rate, the idea of changing the feel at the bottom of
> the stroke by artificially changing aftertouch seems counterproductive
> as it alters action performance.  Changing to a more forgiving 
> punching,
> if that's what it requires, makes more sense.  Making an issue about
> what "normal" means misses the whole point.
>
> David Love
> davidlovepianos@comcast.net


There is however one thing I have to bring forward, and it is an 
interesting issue :

In the various factories where I have followed my training, there was 
never any mentioning of purposely adjusting the aftertouch by putting 
in softer punching. Both Steinway Hamburg and Yamaha use a standard 
aftertouch of around 0,5 to 1mm.
The Yamaha Academy, and then at the concert grand level, they are the 
most precise in this matter. Even more precise and more disciplined 
than Steinway Hamburg.
I think that Richard Brekne, who has been visited the Basic Grand Piano 
course and the Master course, refers to this setting of aftertouch 
which in practice appears to be a normal and standardized procedure in 
actually most factories.
I myself have had that experience at the 4 most important factories of 
this time.

Of course these factories have their reason to do this, to follow their 
procedures of making an aftertouch of no more in any case than 1 mm, 
which, in practice, is already a kind of "soft landing".
All four factories btw have a firmer punching than others of which the 
Steinway and the Yamaha punching are the most firm.
Just because I have had the extensive experience, and because I have 
personally understood their reasoning, I keep arguing that it is better 
to use a firmer pinching, and then to "play with it" if a pianist has a 
particular wish.
Within the possibilities of the existing actions, keyboards and the 
punchings they use, it is very easy to alter things and yet stay within 
the borders of the regulating parameters used by them.

If you for instance have the specific wish to, nevertheless, favor a 
softer punching, then I would call that your personal choice, just like 
it is in any case my choice to do it the other way, but the choice for 
softer punching remains debatable because it is not the choice of the 
leading factories (Steinway, Yamaha, Bechstein, Bösendorfer).

I think that is what Richard Brekne means.

friendly greetings
from
André Oorebeek

www.concertpianoservice.nl

"Where music is no harm can be"