Objective keydip measuring

[A440A@aol.com]

Ron asks: Inre keys not touching down under rapid play.
> How the heck did you measure the keystroke in "rapid
>pianissimo
>playing??" You got some fancy computer sensor gadget on the keyframe?
Forgive me for being
>skeptical, but I am.

    Hey!  skeptics make the world sit up straight, I don't mind.  
My fancy way of sensing the contact under the keys was a length of very thin
dental floss,  tied in a loose loop under the fronts of the white keys, on top
of the front rail punchings, behind the pins.  While a Scarlatti piece was
played, I could slowly pull the loop around, and could feel every time a key
trapped it between the bottom of the key and the felt punching. 
>Suggesting that the
>keys don't contact the keypunching sounds like suggesting that, if you
>run quickly and
>quietly, your feet don't touch the ground! 
    I think the analogy with feet not touching the ground is a poor one, since
the interaction between the two is a neccessity to movement, but there is no
reason a key has to hit the felt to impel the hammer.  
   Harpsichordists have no punchings under their keys, (usually), the jack
stop rail does all the work, and a careless player's lack of depth control can
be felt as impact on the rail.  An artist will not press the keys any more
than is necessary. 
Regards, 
Ed Foote