soft, bass trill regulation

[Barbara Richmond]

Aw, Mr. Bill, always the gentleman.  And you didn't even include anything
about how I've been promising to get to my piano for eons.........

:-)

Barbara Richmond


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "William Ballard" <yardbird@vermontel.net>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 7:40 PM
Subject: Re: soft, bass trill regulation


> At 6:44 PM -0500 8/31/05, Barbara Richmond wrote:
>>Vladan,
>>Thanks, perhaps I'll have a chance to work on my piano next week.  It
>>really
>>needs it (I suspect my Renner parts are getting a bit sluggish), and this
>>could be incentive I need.  I'll let you know my results--whenever it is I
>>get to it.  :-)
>>Barbara
>
> In all fairness, I should disclose that it wasn't Barbara's piano which
> had the difficulty, it was one that I take care of. Leon Fleisher came to
> http://www.yellowbarn.org/ for a benefit concert in this 150-seat recital
> hall, and I was on duty during his entire time there that weekend. He had
> two Ds to choose from (Fred and Ginger) and although he liked Ginger's
> brighter sound, Fred's action was more reliable for him. As I look back on
> it, the critical matter in his selection may have been this very trill in
> the Schubert. There were plenty of quiet passages in the program, but this
> wasn't an issue.
>
> At any rate, I was chasing after small details on the chosen piano,
> sometimes anticipating them before he mentioned them, on the basis of
> hearing him play. I didn't catch on to this issue until SUN, right at the
> end of his practising, 45 minutes before the concert. I was heading
> onstage for a final tuning check, and as he came off he said "Can you
> knock down the low Gb/Ab, so that they're not as loud." I listened and at
> normal volume levels, they didn't stand out. But just for good measure, I
> did a quick poke right at the strike point. My experience is that
> acupuncture is far less likely to knock down volume than brightness, but I
> gave him the benefit of the doubt.
>
> Then as the Schubert started, that first trill which he played quietly,
> sounded rough, wobbly. He took the first repeat (an indulgence) and when
> the trill came around again it was louder and successful. That's when I
> realized that the voicing request was not so much for sound, as it was a
> strategy to get a quieter trill more reliable.
>
> Barbara and I were trading stories at the end of the summer, and because
> she's a pianist, I asked her what she knew quiet trills. The discussion on
> this list has been very valuable.
>
> Mr. Bill
>
> "Can you check out this middle C?. It "whangs' - (or twangs?)
>     Thanks so much, Ginger"
>     ...........Service Request
> +++++++++++++++++++++
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