Touch design for concert pianists

[Ed Sutton]

Stephane-

If you must make the change, I favor adding clips to the hammer shanks.
My reasoning is that this is "working weight," i.e. the effort of the 
performer is converted into an accelerated mass that strikes the string.
There is a relationship between the effort and the sound produced.
It is also easy to add, easy to remove, and you can adjust the weight by 
sliding it along the shank.
Adding weight to the key backs just makes it hard to play.

Ed S.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stéphane Collin" <collin.s at skynet.be>
To: "'Pianotech List'" <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 4:14 PM
Subject: RE: Touch design for concert pianists


> Hi all.
>
> Thanks for valuable insights so far.
>
> It is my understanding that the motto behind this touch weight issue is 
> that
> a serious professional pianist should play at home on some "heavier" 
> action
> than anything he is likely to encounter in concert situation, to avoid the
> premature fatigue at half the program.
> I can understand this.
> Also, I totally agree on the sad fact that pianists don't have a clue of
> what is happening.  They just repeat what their teachers said.  This is
> curious, as oboe players all can change and shape their reeds themselves,
> and all guitar players can all pertinently choose and change their 
> strings,
> etc.  but pianists don't want to know anything about their instrument : 
> they
> just want a good technician do it for them, that is, a technician 
> authorized
> by their own teacher, who thought the same way.
> Too often I realized than my (ok this is relative, but then) enlightened
> advise is of no value compared to what any pianist with a curriculum might
> say.  Also, people, especially people who don't know about it, tend to 
> trust
> the authorized guy, not the enlightened one.
> Yet, I want to stay open to what they feel.  I'm just trying to put to
> myself the right limits beyond whose problems will occur.
> Alas, up till now, I never succeeded to make any client understand that
> piano health is not about temperature, but about humidity level swings 
> over
> time.  Not any of them.  Any.  So about touch weight, I'm quite hopeless.
>
> Bah...
>
> Best regards.
>
> Stéphane Collin.
>
>
>
>
>